Trial and Error
by Jaya Mitai
Summary: Current manga spoilers. Kanda Yuu vanished, taken by the enemy. Six weeks later, the Order has irrefutable proof that he is killing Finders. The Order steps up the task of finding him, but the line between sides has become indistinct. COMPLETE.
1. Defection?

**Disclaimer**:Don't own D-Gray Man. Making no money. Please don't sue. See Author's Notes at the end of the chapter. Current manga spoilers.

-x-

While the fate of the first Finder wasn't clear, the golem caught unobstructed footage of the second one. His eye could always see the separate frames despite the upgrades Komui had done, but in this case the golem was two generations old and the gap between images was even larger. This hadn't been a team that had been sent to investigate.

Rather, this hadn't been a team that had been sent to investigate that particular rumor. They thought they were looking for Innocence.

The grainy footage hid many of the details from him. The weapon was a line of white, that was all he could make out before a spray of blood, and the second Finder tripped over his nonresponsive feet, dead before he hit the ground.

His attacker spared him not a single look, slinging the blood from what was now quite obviously a blade, roughly forty-two inches from hilt to tip, and he glanced up at the golem, which was hovering now that its operators were no longer fleeing. There was a slight twitch of his head, to the left, and with another dark glare, he sheathed the sword and stalked out of the frame, leaving the golem intact and recording the results.

Dark hair, possibly an inch long all around. Striking features, with eyes that gave him away as eastern despite the traditional Victorian oilskin coat and collar beneath. Not as tall as the second Finder, so a hair under six feet. It was impossible to tell his build beneath the large, flowing coat and crappy video quality, but even as the golem swallowed the image and became still and silent on the desk, there was no doubt who he had just seen.

Gigi didn't miss a beat. "His hair is growing back well."

Behind the desk, Komui seemed to wilt, just slightly, but he had known as surely as they had the moment he'd seen the footage, he had to have. Despite the costume, the hair, the weapon . . . the lack of long hair actually made his face look less angular, but it was clear he was thinner than before, which accentuated that very feature and the result was a less feminine but no less Yuu Kanda.

"Is that all the footage?" Lavi asked mildly, eye flicking back to the golem. "There was nothing before or after of note?"

"You would ask such a question after what you had just seen?"

Lavi tilted his head in what the man didn't realize was a mockery, and focused on the panda when Komui shook his head.

"So he never came on frame."

Bookman hmmed, his hands folded into his long, wide sleeves.

"You, too, have been taken in by the supervisor's theory?" The speaker did not move from the corner of Komui's desk, though his voice reflected his disappointment. "We could not have received better confirmation of his defection."

"That was the point, Inspector." Bookman, too, did not move from his place on the sofa. Clearly they were going to be here for a while. "He received a command to leave the golem intact."

"How did you come by that impression?"

"He turned toward the speaker." That twitch of his head was a mannerism Lavi had seen so many times . . . though usually he only gave such an obvious gesture to people like Lenalee, his general, or occasionally supervisor Komui. In itself it was telling; that was a gesture of acknowledgement, and it was reserved for those Kanda respected. "He also readied the sword for an upwards strike." Which meant that unless he'd been stopped, Kanda would have destroyed the golem and they would never have seen the images.

Lavi wasn't quite sure what that meant.

The inspector's lips twisted. "To destroy the evidence."

"And someone wanted it preserved," Komui murmured, folding his hands beneath his chin. "Bookman, did you see anything else?"

Gigi spent little time considering his next words, though he spoke them slowly. Lavi was reasonably sure he knew what _that_ meant, and he gave nothing away.

"Kanda was not pleased with the order. He did not wish to leave the golem intact."

"And what traitor would want such evidence presented to his former masters?"

"It's not betrayal." All eyes moved to him but Gigi's at the statement, and Lavi couldn't help a bitter smile. "Yuu has always had little respect for Finders. They are easy to come by and expendable in his eyes. What commander would not sacrifice a few foot soldiers to continue with a larger operation?"

The inspector grunted.

"Either way it appears he was instructed to kill them, and he was instructed to leave the evidence. Whether he has changed sides or is merely a puppet at this point, I _would_ be surprised if we didn't receive an anonymous tip to his whereabouts within the next few days."

Kanda may have known without being told that this was merely the next step in the process to lure his general out into the open, or he may simply have wanted to spare his general from having to witness something that would upset the man. Alternately, he hated the new weapon, the stunningly accurate opposite of his Innocence, or was ashamed at his technique, which told he was still recovering from some type of injury.

What worried Lavi the most was how little of Kanda was staring out of those eyes, but how much of him had stalked away from the dead Finders. Was he truly being controlled, as other human slaves of the Earl? Or was it possible he was breaking? To take a Finder's life, inconsequential to him. His puppetmaster might not have realized that, but if they had . . .

To break a habit, you went cold turkey. To break an ideal, you eased into it one action at a time.

"We know he hasn't betrayed his Innocence," Komui interjected, once again brandishing the only real defense he had. "Hevlaska confirmed as of this morning Mugen was still synchronized to Kanda. It has not chosen a new accommodator."

"Hevlaska can't tell us the synch rate, it could be as little as two percent at this point." As if the words were brushing a fly off one of his pies. "He's holding a weapon. Are you saying Innocence would ignore a bonding by the Earl of Millennium?"

"We know that individual Noah were assigned generals to kill, prior to the taking of the Ark by Allen Walker.. We know that Kanda was responsible for the death of the Noah that had been trying to kill Tiedoll. So-"

Leverrier snorted impatiently. "Yes, we've heard your theory before, Komui, that he was specifically targeted. The fact remains that if his Innocence is still synchronized to him, he has not been bonded to the Earl. He is holding a weapon and you would have me believe a Noah is just outside the frames, yet a loyal Exorcist is turning that weapon upon colleagues?"

Bookman scowled openly at the inspector. "Only a fool would give the boy a weapon he could turn on his master. A simple katana is no match for dark matter."

"If that's what it is." The inspector's voice was silky. "A simple katana would be worthless against Innocence as well, yet this boy seems every inch their steadfast terrier. Perhaps it is only a test of his new 'loyalties,' but we can ill afford to be wrong." He turned to Komui dismissively. "Dispatch a pair of Exorcists. He is to be arrested on sight. Should he refuse or resist in any way, they are to execute him."

Lee didn't bother to hide his outrage. "Inspector-!"

"Perhaps his weapon is not powerful enough to buy his freedom from a Noah, but Innocence is. Two Exorcists should be more than enough to fend off any threat, particularly if Kanda Yuu is collecting intel as you have so strongly argued. He should be able to give those Exorcists his captor's every weakness, and eager for the opportunity to return home and escape the tortures we can so clearly see have crippled him."

Komui ignored the sarcasm. "Leverrier, he may be working towards a larger goal. There could be other factors-"

"How long has Kanda Yuu been with the Order, Komui? A decade?" Leverrier gave Komui ample time to respond, but the supervisor had no way of heading him off and the inspector knew it. "He knows far too much about the inner workings of this organization. Should he be turned, he represents a serious breach of security, and I as an Inspector have the authority to act without prior approval in these matters. He will be extracted from the Noah you claim is holding him hostage one way or another."

"So you already received the new tip." Bookman managed to make it very mild, and Lavi tucked it away as another example of how far he needed to go to become a fully fledged Bookman.

Leverrier looked annoyed. Komui looked tired. "Yes, yesterday. Belgrade."

"Beograd, the White City." An awfully ironic place for a Noah to settle, certainly. "It will be difficult keeping the details from General Tiedoll if you fully brief the Exorcists you send."

"Not terribly. They need merely to be sworn to secrecy." Leverrier stood. "I don't believe I need to do the same with you, Bookman? I'd sooner you or your apprentice had been captured than any other Exorcist. At least I could trust not a single word could be pried out of your lips."

Bookman ignored the threat entirely, and addressed his next words to Komui. "I would like to accompany the team you send."

While Order law did dictate than an inspector had the authority he was claiming, ultimately Komui was still in charge of his own Exorcists, and that was something Leverrier could not effect without much higher authorization. The Chinaman gave them a ghost of a smile.

"Of course you would." The inspector moved away from the desk, following the thin trail of visible tiles beneath mountains of paperwork. There was silence as Leverrier took his leave, and even long after he was gone, with both of them watching Komui tap the golem gently and then pocket it.

Lavi sighed and stretched, rubbing the back of his head when his bandana shifted. "We originally assumed Kanda's hair had been sent here because it was the main headquarters." Making clear the fact that the Noah knew exactly where they had moved, even if it was difficult to enter. "And that it was lucky the package was intercepted and given to you before it was delivered, since Tiedoll was actually here at the time. What if that assumption was incorrect?"

It wasn't hope behind his glasses, and Lavi almost regretted saying anything before mentioning it to the panda. But if it was true, it was something Komui needed to take into consideration before he formed his team of two Exorcists.

"What did you see, Lavi?"

"It's what I didn't see. His left wrist." Bookman reviewed his memories, inferring his meaning instantly, but Komui obviously could not. "Kanda wore a prayer bracelet on his left wrist. It's not there anymore."

". . . that's true, but neither is his Exorcist's uniform. I think-" But then he stopped, and some of the color in Komui's face drained away. "You think the Noah knew Tiedoll was here, or at least where he's been, and has been sending pieces of the uniform all this time."

Lavi shrugged. "It's been six weeks, and you've received four anonymous leads. Tiedoll hasn't shown for any of them. If I was a Noah trying to lure him out, I'd assume that his mail must not be forwarding, and I'd try to messenger it to him personally."

It was a fact that Tiedoll was in Europe with Marie and Chaoji. That the inspector had forbidden any word of Kanda's status to reach him, fearing that Tiedoll among all the generals would be the most likely to willingly walk into a trap to save one of his apprentices. Lavi was certain if Tiedoll had opened that package to see Kanda's hair – complete with large patches of moist scalp still attached, showing that it had been literally ripped off his head – he would have disobeyed the Pope himself to find his student.

But knowing that the last tip would lead to Belgrade, in close proximity to where the general was known to be-

A Noah that knew when Tiedoll was at headquarters would be able to find him, particularly when the man wasn't hiding.

Bookman sighed heavily. "Lavi and I will be leaving for Belgrade this afternoon. I do not believe Leverrier will begrudge your adding a third Exorcist to the mission."

-x-

**Four Weeks Ago**

He almost rolled his eyes as the large, mahogany double doors were pulled apart, their grandeur diminished by the fact that they were replicas of doors three times their size in a mansion five times that of the one he was a guest in. There had been little point of replicating them on this scale, though he supposed to a peasant they would be imposing.

There weren't likely to be too many of _those_ lying around.

She scampered across the threshold, glancing back and forth before giving a squeak of sheer, unadulterated happiness and launching herself at the nearest figure, arms held wide to catch her.

Though he never seemed to treat or touch her inappropriately, and he knew firsthand that Rhode would never tolerate it, there was still something vaguely unsettling about her unreserved fondness for one member of the family he could do without.

Tyki Mikk followed after, far less exuberantly, and admitted to himself, as he cast his gaze across the room, that he could do without most of the members of his family. Outside of Rhode and Lulubell, the majority of them were whiny, needy, or creepy.

Much like the one enfolding Tyki's favorite person into his arms.

"Oohf, I think you've grown a bit, dear one!"

She giggled, wrapping her arms tightly around the neck of Sheryl Camelot. "You think so? The Earl thought I was getting bigger too!" Then she seemed to think better of it, and slid down from his arms until her bare feet touched the highly polished floors. "Maybe I need to buy some new dresses . . ."

"At least you have that right. Fathers are a source of free money," Tyki observed, glancing at the only other non-machine in the room.

An Akuma, level three by the looks of it, followed his gaze to its charge, and with its wide metal jaw stretching wider in pleasure, it released a thread of dark matter from the tip of one armored finger. Within seconds the dark matter coalesced into the thinnest of filaments, and this was flicked expertly around the human's shins. With the smallest gesture it tightened, yanking the human's legs together and back, taking his feet right out from under him. With a grunt of pain he landed on his knees, and Tyki watched curiously as dark red blood blossomed through the off-white fabric covering his legs.

It was linen, so it hadn't cushioned that fall at all. "His knees will be ruined if you keep this up, Sheryl." Then he cocked his head. "His hair seems to be growing back well, though."

Sheryl Camelot wound an arm around Rhode's shoulder, coming to stand far too close beside him, and Tyki would have stepped away had he not been so fascinated by the human. Head bowed, with his open-mouthed panting the only sign of his pain, even when the Akuma withdrew the filament from beneath his skin he did nothing else.

But even more remarkably, he _said_ nothing else.

"He's turned out to be surprisingly resilient," Sheryl murmured, eyes only for his adopted daughter. Almost as if she was a prize. "The Skulls determined the reason for it. He's cursed."

"How interesting. And no death threats?" Tyki smiled when the human didn't even try to raise his head at the taunt.

"He's far too exhausted for such things." It was almost fond. "This Akuma has been assigned as his butler, and they spend every waking moment together. Which is every moment he's not unconscious, and you can see he fights that with all of his strength. I don't think he trusts me yet."

"How wise," Tyki murmured, and Sheryl chuckled amiably.

"Cursed?" Curiousness overcame her, and Rhode stepped forward and bent at the waist, as if to smell the struggling young man. It took everything in him to suppress the urge to tear her away, even knowing that he was harmless, that he could no more hurt her than a toy.

"On his chest, not his face. It might have been done by Marian, the Skulls have never seen the like." His voice turned slightly more serious. "We can only hope he's the test, or it was unrelated. If the Order has begun cursing their Exorcists like this one, they would actually become something of a threat."

"Cross Marian is hardly in a position to be cursing Exorcists these days."

Sheryl hmphed. "Just the same, it enables him to withstand quite a bit of damage. You needn't worry about his knees, little brother."

In a burst of childlike reluctance, Rhode refused to touch him, inspecting him from every angle imaginable. "Wasn't he an equip type? Why do you need a level three to watch him?"

It was certainly a valid question, and the level three didn't offer the answer. "The level one kept forgetting I wanted him alive, and the level two wasn't imaginative enough for my tastes. This Akuma is capable of thinking of new ways to educate him, but never pushes him too far. He's improving with each passing day. I should think he'd be ready for supper in a few weeks."

Tyki curled an eyebrow. "You intend to keep him that long?"

Sheryl used the opportunity to clap him on the shoulder in a not quite companionable way. "Patience. Think of him like a fine wine. Besides, I can hardly act as impetuously and carelessly as you, little brother. I have appearances to keep up."

Rhode was almost purring. "You mean keep hidden, don't you, father?"

He smiled, tousling her hair. "This exile has hurt me terribly, not being able to wake every morning to my darling daughter and humble wife . . . how is she faring of late? Pining away of loneliness, like her poor banished husband?"

Tyki ignored the family update, using the broken Exorcist as an excuse to move out from beneath Sheryl's too-clingy touch. His brother had been successfully 'assassinated' by Minister Leslie's replacement, which meant he needed to return in a few months as a lower-placed politician in another part of the world. Until then, with limited puppets and scheming options, most of his attention was focused on his current assignment, which was one the generals they had failed to kill on the last go-round.

And Tyki suspected that assignment was only really to keep Sheryl out of the Earl's hair. They had targeted the Generals only to force the discovery of the 'Heart,' and while they might not have succeeded yet, the seed was planted. Killing a general now was worth the Innocence he or she would likely be carrying, but annihilating the entire Order was out of the question, at least until the true 'Heart' was identified.

Which left Sheryl little to do but groom his new project and wait for the general to arrive.

Despite the loss of his hair, he knew the Exorcist before him. Seeing him on his knees granted a rush, true, but it was his scalp that attracted Tyki's attention. Unabashed, he passed his hand over the soft fuzz growing where there should have only been shining white scar tissue, and he released a surprised breath as velvet softness brushed against his fingertips.

"It's like down."

The Exorcist, or what was left of him, responded to the caress by closing his mouth, bottling his pain. Tyki passed his fingers through that shortest of hair over and over again, marveling at the silken quality. Almost like an infant's, but far thicker.

"Enjoying him, little brother?" Sheryl laughed at his own joke, though it wasn't irritating enough to make Tyki stop. "It made an excellent handle, but once he became dehydrated . . . well, you saw. I daresay had I cut it, it wouldn't be nearly so fine."

And despite the curse, it didn't appear to be growing back any faster than normal. That could have to do with his general health, Tyki allowed; it seemed Sheryl was being as generous with food as he was sleep.

"Starving him into submission, are we?"

His 'elder' brother merely flicked his eyes from Rhode to the Exorcist. "He chooses not to eat. A rather silly suicide considering his curse, if you ask me, but there you have it. I haven't figured out if he thinks I've poisoned his breakfasts or he simply doesn't like oatmeal and eggs."

"Why not ask him?"

"Oh, I have." Sheryl ruffled Rhode's hair as she became bored with their talk and wandered over to Sheryl's desk, where several plans were being painstaking sketched out, if the architect's triangle and multiple leads were to be believed.

"He is forbidden from lying to me, but he has the option to remain silent. On this issue, he is."

He hadn't been exactly chatty in Edo, either, but the silence, replacing what Tyki recalled only two weeks ago had been chilling and inventive threats on their lives, was a bit disheartening. Perhaps with sleep and food he would regain his spirit. It would be a pity if Sheryl's distraction was so easily broken.

Then again, it _was_ his specialty.

"How deeply did you place those Tease, by the way?"

Tyki smiled when the body beneath his fingers tensed, just a little. _Still in there, are you, Mr. Kitchen Knife?_ "Deeply enough that he will not locate them simply by starving himself." He refocused on the Exorcist. "If that is your intent, boy, you weaken yourself for no reason. Come, why will you not eat? The food is not tainted. We Noah, even Sheryl, do not lie."

"Such resounding confidence," Sheryl griped, but Tyki ignored him, crouching down in front of the human. He may not have had the strength of body or will, his head remained bowed, he did not look up.

Heat beside his cheek made Tyki glance over to see Rhode, who had wandered back over and mimicked his position. She hooked a finger beneath the Exorcist's chin. "Eh? Aren't you supposed to look at us when we're talkin' to you?"

She forced his head up, just enough to see his eyes, smoldering through his eyebrows. The fierce hatred in that stare was familiar enough, and Rhode drew back in surprise.

The next moment Sheryl was standing between them, and the kick he dealt the Exorcist was vicious. The human had only begun to flinch, and Sheryl's polished boot caught him just beneath the jaw. He was raised completely off his knees, landing in a tangled heap several yards away.

"Don't _ever_ look at her in that manner!" There was more Noah in that voice than Sheryl, and Tyki stood, straightening his coat with a light frown.

"I don't believe he can hear you, brother Sheryl." Nor was it likely he had survived that blow. The Exorcist remained crumpled where he'd landed, and there was no sound, neither protest nor breath. The Akuma strode to the body at a dismissive gesture from Sheryl and grabbed the Exorcist by an ankle. Without another word it began dragging the human from the room.

"Then I will repeat it when he wakes." As if the lapse of control had not occurred, Sheryl clasped his hands behind his back and beamed. "We were lucky he was cursed, I would have sworn the level one killed him at least four times before I assigned a level two."

Rhode cocked her head to the side, watching the Akuma removing Sheryl's toy from the room. "Father, I don't think he'll be ready for supper in a few weeks. He still looks like he hates me very much."

"Hush, dear one. He'll come around. How could anyone hate someone as cute as you?"

-x-

**Author's Notes**: As mentioned in PAA, I got infected with D-Gray Man. This was crawling around my brain so I decided to let it out. Rated R for violence, torture, and possible semi-explicit sex in later chapters. I'm really not sure I've convinced myself of how it's going to end, either, so I may end up diverging at that point and having a choose-your-own-ending. It's an experiment, like everything else. In my case, this is an experiment in telling a simple story as concisely as possible.

Stop laughing. I'm serious here!! ; )

And btw, Fulgor? Shall be getting an update soon. I miss Vash, I does.


	2. How It Began

Disclaimer in previous chapters. Please see Author's Notes at the end.

-x-

**Present**

The countryside was drab, grey and damp and caught in the clutches of winter, and despite the relative warmth in the car, he pulled his coat about him more firmly.

His companion noted the motion, as he noted everything, but obviously, with none of Lavi's careless ability. Perhaps that was what differentiated Bookmen from everyone else; he knew that Bookman and Lavi watched him as closely as Howard Link, knew that they remembered every mannerism, every word they'd ever heard him say. But they managed not to make him feel like an insect or interesting piece of machinery beneath a magnifying lens.

Or maybe those were part of the orders Link had received. In which case he did it very well.

It was hard to admit, but he missed Lavi. Lavi would be sitting across from him doing something goofy and getting dirty looks from Bookman, or talking about some fantastic adventure he'd read about, or even offering a silence that wasn't so utterly empty. Lavi would slip an arm around his shoulder and whisper about the red paint on Link's forehead, or say something so entirely uncannily apropos to his thoughts that he'd wonder if they were printed on his chest and all Lavi had to do was take one look and all of Allen's thoughts would be burned into his memory forever.

It wouldn't even be hard to guess. His thoughts had been very repetitive in the last few weeks.

He was still alive. Mugen was still synchronized to him, Komui had told him that much. The Noah and the Earl had him, and Kanda was still alive.

If their Ark could take them inside the Order headquarters, than his Ark could take him into theirs.

All he had to do was know where it was.

And once again, he came to the same challenge. He had no idea how to track down the headquarters of the Noah. It would be silly to assume they all stayed together all the time, and while the Ark the Earl had had built in Edo was probably the Earl's home, he couldn't be sure it was the Noah's. Or that they would take him there to question him, or whatever it was they were doing to him.

Six weeks. They'd had him for six weeks. Tyki had had him for all of twenty minutes and he'd been as good as dead. Whatever it was they wanted with an Exorcist, surely it was finished by now.

At least he could be sure they wouldn't turn him into a Skull. He wasn't smart enough for that.

The uncharitable thought was almost enough to make him smile, and Allen Walker dragged his eyes off the window to stare at Link's boots, where a stray shoelace quivered in response to the motion of the train.

"_Clown Belt!"_

_The ribbon of his Innocence responded, stretching for them even as he parried a blow that would have torn him in two. In another instant the Akuma was bearing his cross, but he could not spare the freed soul so much as a glance._

_He wasn't going to make it._

_As fast as his Innocence was, it wasn't as fast as Arystar Krory, and the level three dodged to the side, using Mugen to deflect the vampiric Exorcist. Kanda was limp in the Akuma's grasp, hand crushed to his own Innocence by the Akuma's so it would not be forced to touch something so toxic itself._

_Clown Belt followed the Akuma's dodge, but there was so little distance between it and the doorway to the Ark-_

_Two more ribbons of his cowl extended below him, launching Allen into the air. If he couldn't get to Kanda in time, he could get inside that doorway before it closed. Akuma couldn't activate the Ark without a token from a Noah, so he'd need to be prepared for what he'd find, but there was no way Kanda could fight his way out, not with those injuries-_

_Abruptly the level three shrieked and hurled Kanda's Innocence, and Allen caught Mugen reflexively, only perhaps half an inch from his right eye._

_Caught it with Clown Belt._

"_You bastard!" it growled, digging its claws deeper into Kanda's chest, and the Exorcist jerked in its grasp. Blood came from his mouth instead of a retort, and then the Akuma was in the doorway, and Krory was there, just above it._

"_Leaving so soon?" He touched down lightly on the frame, and it exploded at the contact. _

_Allen shielded his eyes with his claw, flying directly for it-_

_And found only Krory, as limp in his right arm as Kanda had been in the Akuma's. The doorway – and Kanda – were gone._

If he had been Lavi, he would remember exactly what had happened. Why the doorway had exploded when Krory touched it, what it might have meant for Kanda. If he was floating in the space between, between the Ark and the Musician's Room that he himself had seen before he woke there.

Or if everything had gone according to plan, and Kanda had arrived safely into the hands of the Noah that had orchestrated the entire thing.

Part of him firmly believed that the intention had been to lure him to the Earl's new Ark. That Kanda had been grabbed but not killed, that the level three had done everything it could to get him to follow and Krory had simply tripped the trap just a fraction too soon. But that made him feel far too self-centered; surely the Earl had plans that did not concern him. Perhaps the intent all along was simply to destroy their Innocence, and the Akuma believed it would be easier to take Kanda with than try to pry Mugen away.

Maybe the target was his general, Froi Tiedoll. Or Lenalee, who was so close to the distant Japanese Exorcist. Perhaps Kanda was just bait for the Heart.

Or maybe it had all been an accident. The Akuma had been dispatched to the same rumor of Innocence as they had, and it had seen an opportunity and gotten a lucky hit. He hadn't seen how it had gotten hold of Kanda, only the result, and he had a sinking, selfish doubt that perhaps there had been an attack he had not seen. That once again Kanda had stepped in front of a blow that had been meant for someone else.

If he were Lavi, he would know the answers to those questions. He would have seen something, remembered the vital clue that would tell him where Kanda was, how to get to him. How to save him.

But Lavi hadn't been there. Just him and Kuro-chan, who had woken several hours later with a vicious headache and no more insight into what had happened than Allen had himself. Days had stretched into weeks, and they had nothing, just the knowledge that Mugen, safe in Hevlaska's possession, still had an accommodator.

And he'd been there. He'd let it happen.

He'd considered it, asking the mirror. The mirror that hadn't spoken to him since the Ark. If he wasn't certain that Howard Link would incapacitate him on the spot he would have done it weeks ago. It was unlikely the Fourteenth could tell him exactly where the Noah were, or the Earl, seeing as he was a traitor, but there could be something he knew that would help. Allen could feel Link's eyes on him but he continued to stare aimlessly at the swaying shoelace, willing the other man to . . . need to pee, to eat, to sleep, anything but stick so close to him. He hadn't had a moment alone –

Link had been there too. He hadn't been fighting, but he'd –

Allen couldn't actually place where Link had been in the fighting. If he'd seen anything, he hadn't shared it, but how could he, he was the only one of them that had still been on the ground.

Allen picked up his head, the words finding their way off his tongue just the same. "Link?"

He already had the older boy's attention, and Link just continued to stare inquiringly at him.

"Before, when Kanda-"

The Inspector resolutely shut his eyes. "You shouldn't dwell."

His hand curled into the fabric of his pants. "I'm not dwelling, I just want to know what you saw-"

"**Allen. Don't move or respond."**

He almost jumped. Almost. The voice seemed to be directly in his ear, talking right over the self-important response he was getting from Link. The Inspector's eyes were still closed, and Allen clamped his mouth shut and concentrated on his earring.

"-was reported directly to Inspector Leverrier. It's been reviewed-"

"**It's Komui. Listen carefully, and don't let the Inspector know."**

-x-

**Six Weeks Ago**

Nothing worked. Bastard must have gotten a tendon, then.

He dragged his right arm closer against his body, struggling to work it under his chest. It wasn't much, but he'd be damned before he was prostrate before a Noah.

"Are you listening?"

Fingers wound deep into his hair and his head was yanked up. He clenched his teeth to keep his jaw closed, but the angle made breathing difficult and he couldn't stop a grunt of pain, nor the hisses that came after.

The Noah – he wasn't sure who, the only one in his line of sight wasn't the one that was speaking and the voice was unfamiliar – seemed to be quite close. Probably crouched beside him, easily within striking distance but his left arm was completely useless, and it was Tyki Mikk that stood in front of him, casually removing his white gloves.

"You are beaten, Exorcist. You have no Innocence." They mystery Noah had said it before but somehow the words seemed to have a little more meaning when there was less and less oxygen in his brain. "You cannot fight us. You cannot harm us. You are defeated."

The voice seemed to be waiting for confirmation, or his agreement, but the best he could do was a choked snarl. His right arm was able to support only a little of his weight, and his chest was still sluggishly bleeding. He could feel nothing at all below his waist.

The Akuma, which had inflicted more damage on him than either of the Noah, kicked his right arm out from under him. It didn't make much of a difference.

"Is that not a Buddhist prayer bracelet on your wrist, human?"

His uniform was in tatters, it was a miracle it was still there at all.

"Does that not indicate that your body is your temple? This damage is your doing." His head was yanked back further still, so that Tyki had almost completely disappeared from his line of sight, yet he was no closer to seeing the Noah beside him. "Whether you yield today or a month from today, it will happen. You can arrive at that end with your body intact, or broken. That choice is solely yours."

He growled, knowing full well it would communicate exactly what he thought of that, and Tyki tsked.

"You have no weapon. Your friends believe you dead. You have lost."

Che. As if an Exorcist without Innocence was any less an Exorcist. Or was weaponless.

"Your life is forfeit, and as such belongs to me." The mystery Noah stated it as fact. "You will address me as master, respectfully, and my family as well. You will obey me." It seemed as though he was ticking them off in his head as he went. "You will answer any question I ask with the truth. Earn my trust and I will not harm you. Anger me and I will make you wish you'd never been born."

Abruptly he was released, his nose smashing painfully into the floor, and it took his disoriented brain a moment to realize that he was being moved. Metal hands, machine hands snaked around his upper arms, effortlessly hoisting him aloft, so that his toes brushed the cold stone floors. It was still Tyki Mikk before him, and the man smiled almost kindly at him.

"Trust is to be earned. Until then, it would be unwise to give you the run of the complex without a restraint, don't you agree?" The skin of his palm split, and despite himself Kanda watched a small golem, a butterfly no larger than a monarch, emerged from inside his body. It opened its wings once, twice, then chattered with an oddly metallic chime before wrapping itself tightly in its wings.

What remained in the Noah's hand was a dark black cocoon, such as he might see on the trees in Japan in spring.

The Noah's smile became quite a bit less friendly. "These are designed to incapacitate, but not kill, should you wander a bit too far from the house." He raised his other hand, and a similar golem was produced and cocooned. "They will be painful at first, but you will eventually grow accustomed to them."

Still grinning, Tyki Mikk pushed one of the devices somewhere into his left shoulder, and Kanda's last coherent thought was to be grateful that he could not feel his legs.

-x-

There was a hurried knock on the door, and seconds later it opened, revealing a deeply bowing Akuma in its human skin.

"Master Noah! Apologies, Master Noah, but there is an emergency!"

Sheryl hid his annoyed expression with a polite smile. "Excuse me a moment," he said, smoothly rising from his chair. "Please review the plans in the meantime, I shall return shortly."

A white-gloved hand waved him off. "Go, go. I can entertain myself for a short while."

With a short bow, Sheryl stepped away from the Earl of Millennium and strode unhurriedly towards the doors of his parlor. The Akuma looked quite abashed at the sight of its creator sitting there, calmly perusing some documents laid between them on a coffee table, but continued.

"The prisoner, he's escaped!"

"Dear me," Sheryl murmured mockingly. "How ingenious of him. Where is he now?"

"In the west hall, Noah sir!"

The west hall was quite a distance from the room he'd been left in, near the cellar. In hindsight, it hadn't been his best idea. He had to pass that room to get wine for the evening's meal, and it had tempted him to check in on his new project.

And showing concern simply would not do.

"Delay him, but do not kill him." He'd rather confront the young Exorcist in the house than the grounds, he wanted the sunlight to be a special treat that the boy looked forward to.

"I-I cannot, Master Noah! He is too fast!"

Sheryl gave the Akuma a sharp look, even as he increased his pace, just a little. "He's on death's door. He shouldn't be able to walk, let alone run. Detain him."

The Akuma, a young blonde girl with pigtails, trembled so hard they shook. "He can move faster than any human, Master Noah! He has damaged several Akuma and destroyed one."

Sheryl felt his eye tic in annoyance and he brushed a lock of hair from his face, cutting through the dining room. Luckily, he'd been on the other end of the complex, so heading him off was fairly easy, but even so . . . how on earth could he have destroyed an Akuma without Innocence? Was it possible he still had a piece on him?

_The prayer bracelet_, he thought immediately. Tyki had commented on how desperate the Order must be, if it would allow an Exorcist to so openly flaunt that he believed the Vatican was in fact incorrect, as far as the details of his deity were concerned.

Well. It was surely the young man's last card, and he had revealed it all too soon.

"Follow my orders or I will destroy you myself."

The Akuma squeaked and ran to obey, and Sheryl jogged quietly through the large walnut-paneled room, poking his head out into the West Hall. There was the sound of fighting, so he stepped out more completely, ducking around a stand and bust of Mozart to better see what his little protégé was up to.

All he saw was a whirl of blue-black hair, grossly misshapen, and a level two – the only one in the complex, come to think of it – went flying into the wall. Spackle and painstakingly recreated stencil was pulverized by its impact.

The Exorcist paused, sizing up his opponent, and Sheryl Camelot could hardly believe his eyes.

It was the boy. His uniform was still in tatters, he was still covered in blood, yet he moved as though he was not injured, and as the Akuma had said, faster than humanly possible. In less than a breath he leapt upon the recovering level two, jamming what appeared to be a piece of Akuma armor into the level two's protesting maw.

He had torn a piece from another Akuma and was using the dark matter to fight his way out of the complex.

Only now he had lost his weapon. The level two was sufficiently damaged, and exploded, leaving no piece of armor intact enough to be of use, and the Exorcist swore, moving once again down the hall, towards a large bay window.

He stepped calmly into the boy's path.

The Exorcist slowed, then came to a stop, hardly out of breath. They measured one another, and Sheryl cocked his head to the side.

"Heavens, what a racket. This mess displeases me." He waved a hand. "Clean it up."

The Exorcist merely watched him. "Who are you?"

An excellent question. He hadn't answered it yesterday, but then again he hadn't been asked. "I am Sheryl Camelot, the recently deceased Minister of Moravia."

"Noah," the Exorcist spat.

"Master," Sheryl corrected. "Currently I am merely displeased. Disobey me further and I shall become angry."

He expected the boy to curse him, as he had done yesterday, but he did nothing of the kind. For a moment he appeared to be considering his options, and Sheryl patiently waited.

Almost faster than he could blink, the Exorcist attacked. He had no weapon, Sheryl concluded, easily dodging the initial strike and the one that followed, using only a fraction of his power to dance out of reach.

"Tell me, how is it you're able to move so well?" He started for the Exorcist when the human stumbled, a hand clutching at his chest. Perhaps more injured than he looked . . . ? Whether truly pain or an act, it was used to draw him in; Sheryl dodged a wicked backhand by luck alone, and caught the fist following up on the failed attack.

"You should be near death," he noted, and crushed the Exorcist's hand.

The human screamed, lashing out with a foot that was easily deflected, and then the other. Sheryl never released the hand, though he could feel dislocated fingers grinding in his grip, and he twisted it, the least amount of pressure needed to bear down on the samurai's wrist and forearm. It was enough; the human was forced to his knees, and Sheryl did not relax for a moment.

"I asked you a question, human. Answer me with the truth."

Despite the injuries and the pain, the look on the Exorcist's face sent shivers down his spine. "I will kill you," he ground, gritting his teeth hard enough to crack them to deny any other sound an escape.

The more brittle, the easier to break. Sheryl almost shook his head. Almost.

He needed to pay attention. The first few days set the tone for the rest of the conditioning, after all. "Threatening your master is not an answer. How are you able to do this?" Then he leaned closer, forcing the human to bend towards him to take pressure off his twisting forearm. It seemed there were scars around his eyes in a starburst pattern, something he did not remember seeing yesterday. They hadn't touched his eyes, where in the world . . . ?

The Exorcist spat in his face.

Sheryl smiled pleasantly, and continued to crush the Exorcist's hand until the skin split. He did not stop applying pressure until the boy's forearm was fractured and elbow was dislocated, and when he released him, the best the Exorcist could do was cradle the destroyed limb and breathe.

"I am disappointed," he informed the human, who had the audacity to look up at him, eyes burning with hatred. He withdrew the silk handkerchief from beneath his collar, mopping up his face, and then he held it up, in front of the Exorcist.

"Pay close attention. Every time you disappoint me, your punishment will be as follows."

-x-

**Author's Notes**: So, now I just need to think up something horrible to do with a silk scarf. You have silverfox2702 to thank if I ever do. Never trust science-types. Tricksy. You can see where this is going, but aren't you proud? I'm getting to the point quickly!

(I bet none of the PAA folks are reading this, and will never believe I wrote a short(er) story.)


	3. Belgrade

Disclaimer in previous chapters. Please see Author's Notes at the end.

-x-

**Present**

"Master."

He said it softly, softly enough that it would have been hard to hear if the man he was speaking to wasn't so close by. He could feel the warmth radiating from his skin, but more than that, the faint movement of air carried with it the odd combination of scents that he'd come to recognize anywhere.

Old paper. Turpentine, always. Lead and cedar. And an odd scent that seemed most like lemon rind, oakmoss, and lilacs, that he associated exclusively with Maker of Eden.

"Everything's ready."

He gave a curt nod, keeping track of heartbeats and Madelyn's latest gossip and the sound of air escaping rising bread in the bakery just next door. "And Chaoji?"

A sigh, dancing around a lip full of bristly hair. "Will forgive me."

They stood that way, in the pair of hotel windows, beacons for Noah and the Earl and Akuma, watching in their own way. Doubtless his master's eyes were turned inward, thinking, walking through every step of the coming day to ensure he didn't misplace so much as a toe. Marie had been surprised that he was allowed to accompany his master when Chaoji was left behind, but it also meant that the general saw him as a liability, and as he was dancing through the murky future, always a hand was free to protect him.

And Noise Marie was fairly certain his general could not spare his hand. Not this time.

"Master . . ." He hesitated. "You mean to leave me behind."

"Hmm," Tiedoll replied, a habit he had cultivated long ago of audibly cluing the younger man in to his expressions. "You think I will?"

Marie frowned and said nothing.

"It's true that I am considering it. It is not your skill I worry for," he added quickly. "Only that you will continue when you should turn back."

Marie held back the snort he would have given anyone else who behaved such and then said something so ridiculous. "If I swore that I would turn back if I thought continuing to be impossible, you would still say the same."

The thick wool scarf around his general's throat shifted. "I would. Your judgment has a habit of being inconsistent. Or should I say, it is consistently dependent upon the situation."

"I am hardly unique in that trait, master."

This time he heard a full smile, the hairs of the general's mustache spreading and his lips sliding over his teeth. "That is the very reason I have not. Left you behind, that is." The general's cloak pulled over his shoulder; he had braced himself against the windowframe with an arm. "By the time of that missive, we will be long gone. I expect if you were not so concerned with me, you would have already found him."

Marie stiffened, and Tiedoll clucked his tongue. "It was not a criticism. Can you not feel him? For I am certain he is watching us as we speak."

But he wasn't. Marie knew his heartbeat anywhere, each was as distinctive to a person as their voice, their face, their set of keys. Even in a sea of people, a child could hear their mother's laughter. He did not hear Kanda's laughter, not anywhere.

But Kanda knew how to hide such things, knew the method though he had never managed it, not in all the times they sparred. Daisya once helped him, matched Charity Bell's reverberations with Kanda's heartbeat so the samurai could sneak up on him-

But there was no bell. It was already past the midnight hour by at least seven minutes. He had heard the bells, Belgrade had so many churches, he had memorized the location of their steeples at eight o'clock and checked every hour, more on a whim to see if they were all timed accurately.

They weren't, but that wasn't the point. If Kanda was there, was it a signal that he wanted to be found, or he wanted to remain hidden?

He centered himself on each one, choosing those he envisioned to be tallest, then moved to the ones that were closer. The general had made their arrival no secret; they'd hunted down an Akuma just to make themselves known. Pawns as much as kings in this battle, but it appeared the other player had moved their pieces as well. If Kanda was really there-

It was not his heart that he heard. It was his sigh, ever irritated and nearly a word.

Marie gave no sign that he had heard it. The heartbeat connected to that space, it was . . . calm. Not the calm of meditation; it was alert, but it was without urgency. Without purpose. It was not the same laugh as it had been before.

"He is standing in the belfry eighty meters north of us."

"Ah," was Tiedoll's reply. Marie waited for orders, but none came.

"Do you see him?"

"I believe he would like us to follow."

Marie did so, as that heartbeat leapt without a care down the tower, caught and sped up upon landing, and moved out towards the street.

"He is heading to the train station."

"So it would seem." Ever unperturbed, Tiedoll simply slung a heavy pack onto his shoulder. "There is only one train running at this hour. I have sketched Resita once, many years ago."

Marie said nothing, leaping lightly from the second story window with his general as they moved far too openly down the street, following something that was not quite what Marie was expecting.

"I don't believe you've ever been in Romania, Marie. It's a beautiful country, even at night. And lucky for us, there's almost a full moon."

-x-

**Three Weeks Ago**

On the sixteenth day, the Exorcist knelt to him.

Sheryl paid him no obvious attention; it was clear the boy had done it unconsciously. He was almost literally dead on his feet. That was why it was a curse; anyone else would have succeeded in dying by now. He could not.

Sheryl had been counting on it.

The curse kept him alive, but his body's need to repair and sustain his critical systems, coupled with the boy's refusal to eat, had taken its toll. His face and visible arms had thinned noticeably, and the only reason he was still able to walk at all was probably due to his morning baths, a ritual Sheryl had observed only once to make sure the Exorcist was capable of washing himself properly.

Like most of the savages he'd encountered in Japan, he was not. Therefore the Akuma had been instructed how it should be done and he was fairly certain the boy ingested a day's worth of water just in that half-hour. Had he been anyone else, he surely would have been drowned weeks ago. Either way it had solved the dehydration problem, and enabled the boy, even cursed, to function this long without food.

But that time was clearly expiring rapidly.

When Sheryl or any other Noah entered the room, the Exorcist was to kneel. It was a simple rule, consistently applied by various techniques. The easiest on Sheryl himself had been to incorporate a level three, capable of understanding complex orders and not getting carried away. This morning, as every morning before, the Exorcist was taken to his study after his bath to wait for his master to wake, bathe, dress, and check his calendar. He would be in his place, standing in a corner by the door, waiting for his master to arrive. Once that happened, he was to kneel until he was instructed otherwise.

And like every morning before, when Sheryl turned to close the doors behind him, the Exorcist was still standing. Like every morning before, the Akuma beside him extended a hand, ejecting a string of dark matter that formed a thin, strong wire. In this case, the Akuma paused a moment, changing the shape of the filament to include barbs.

And the Exorcist dropped to his knees.

He didn't even kneel gently; he fell forward exactly as he would have done had the Akuma actually pulled his feet out from under him. It was rote, it was routine. Sheryl entered, he didn't kneel, the Akuma formed the filament with the same gentle hissing sound, and he hit the floor. The Exorcist had not noticed that the Akuma had paused.

And Sheryl paid the gesture no attention. All it meant was that the boy was close to unconscious. This withdrawal wasn't to hide from pain, it was simply physical, plain and simple. It was a crack, not a break.

It was all he needed.

He circled his desk, perusing a few pieces of paper, but it was mostly just to keep the routine. He had gotten the report upon waking; one of the perks of being able to communicate with Akuma mentally. There weren't many, but getting real-time information on another continent without having to resort to a phone was quite nice. It was a pity the humans had evolved enough to manage nearly the same feat on their own.

"Your general doesn't seem to care overly for you, boy," he murmured, scanning the last two lines before placing the paper in the right-hand corner of his desk, on a slim pile of the same. "He sent only a pair of Finders to our rendezvous location. Perhaps you mean less to him than I imagined."

The Exorcist did nothing. He might have been asleep for all the reaction Sheryl got, and he allowed himself a smile.

"Come, human. Perhaps you will find breakfast acceptable this morning."

It took some prodding from the Akuma to get the Exorcist back onto his feet, but he was far past the pain. It was the routine that drove him, stumbling repeatedly on legs that were for once not bleeding, down the hall to the dining room. It was routine that made him sit up straight, and something other than will or physical strength that kept him there. He could likely not eat the food now even if he was inclined, and Sheryl watched him closely as their breakfasts were laid out.

Two eggs over easy, thick toast, bacon and ham. For the Exorcist, oatmeal and eggs. Protein, complex carbohydrates and fiber, everything he needed to continue functioning.

As before, the boy did not respond at all to the food, nor did he make any motion to take up the silverware placed beside it.

"I do not like wasting food," Sheryl reminded him between bites. "If you will not eat now, there will be nothing until tomorrow morning."

It was the same thing he told the boy every time he refused to eat, and it fell on deaf ears. Dull, dark eyes stared at the table without seeing it, and his forearms remained glued to the armrests as if tied. He would not be punished directly for refusing to eat, but he would be punished for poor table manners. He had ceased fighting this particular battle at least a week ago; it was the only time he was permitted to sit in a chair like a human being, and he gained nothing from the struggle but additional injury.

Also, he had his own set of manners, and being unruly at the dinner table apparently conflicted with them.

When Sheryl had finished his own meal, he accepted his tea, watching the boy over the lip of the china. He was utterly unaware of the scrutiny, conscious but just barely, and the Noah decided it was time.

"It only just occurs to me, boy . . . do you know how to eat?"

They always had conversations during tea, so this was no break in the routine, and was not treated as such. The Exorcist said nothing.

"I only ask because you know so little about civilized living . . . when the Ark was in Edo, I visited your homelands occasionally." To undermine the human government. He took another sip of tea. "Did you know chopsticks evolved because your region of the world was too poor to afford anything else?"

Nothing.

"What are now the Chinese razed a country full of forest to the ground to make rice fields, and wood became scarce. Wood for cooking even more so, so they would cut food into small pieces that could be quickly cooked. All they had left was bamboo, so they would use splinters of it to eat." Sheryl paused a moment. "You know, in hindsight, I don't know why they continue. I suppose there's money enough these days."

The Exorcist did not respond to the history lesson in any way, and Sheryl sighed.

"The fact remains, and I suppose I should have asked sooner – do you know how to eat? Like a civilized person, I mean."

The Exorcist said nothing, despite the repetition of a direct question. No flinch, though he knew what was coming.

"You don't, do you. Know how to use a fork and knife."

He probably did; there were too many places the Exorcist would have been deployed that would not cater to his culture, and even though a pair of chopsticks had been in his coat, beside a comb and pair of gloves, it would be impossible to eat a Yorkshire pudding with them.

Sheryl frowned, standing and carrying his teacup and saucer down the long table. He always sat at the head, leaving the Exorcist at the foot but not directly across from him. That honor he had not earned yet. At his approach, the first change to their routine that morning, he saw no response at all.

"I shall have to teach you, then, shan't I."

It wasn't until he set the tea down beside the now-cold plate of eggs that the Exorcist seemed to wake up and realize that something new was happening. His right arm was dead weight in Sheryl's hand, but there was no resistance at all when he manipulated the fork between the Exorcist's fingers.

"You hold a fork like this. Never like a doorknob, or with your fist. Balance it against your middle finger, and put your thumb here . . . like so . . ."

The boy's fingers were trembling slightly, not with fear but from weakness, and the fork clattered to the plate as soon as Sheryl stopped holding his hand in position. The noise was loud, but the human didn't flinch, and Sheryl made a disapproving sound.

"I realize this might be your first time holding a fork properly, but you're going to need to learn a bit faster." Then he paused, as if in consideration. "Is it perhaps you are too weak to hold it yourself?"

The Exorcist blinked, but he was too far gone to properly figure out what was going on.

"You should have said something sooner! Here all this time I thought you were refusing the food. If you needed help, all you had to do was ask for it."

In a flurry of commotion, he pulled a chair alongside the Exorcist, on the right, and made a production of explaining the use of a napkin, setting it in the boy's lap, reminding him to keep his elbows off the table while eating, and pointing out that perhaps the spoon would be easier, since there was nothing to cut. The human barely seemed to know how it happened before his own hand, wrapped in Sheryl's, was gently placing the bowl of the spoon against his lower lip.

"I know you are accustomed to broth-based soups with that awkward sipping spoon, but you cannot slurp oatmeal. You must open your mouth and place the bowl of the spoon fully inside."

It was not a question but a direct command. Phrased nicely, but a command none the less, and he saw some tiny flicker of something cross the boy's eyes. It wasn't fight, necessarily, just awareness. Sheryl relaxed a bit of his pressure on the boy's hand and the spoon drooped, so he used rescuing the spoonful of cold oatmeal as an excuse to push the spoon against the boy's lips again.

It wasn't sweetened, and had congealed into a slimy mass, but the Exorcist allowed his mouth to fall open, and the spoon to be inserted. Sheryl scraped the contents off the spoon with the Exorcist's upper front teeth, and he returned the spoon to the bowl before releasing the boy's hand.

"We place the utensil back on the plate while we chew, and we do not begin again until all the food in the mouth has been swallowed. This allows for polite dinner conversation, and the diner to appreciate the full flavor of a meal."

Which probably didn't taste like much, but to a body starved for food, it didn't seem to matter. Every bite, he asked the Exorcist to hold the spoon, then the fork when they finished the oatmeal and went for the eggs, and when he could not, he kindly assisted him. Most people in that situation, in his experience, would begin crying as they were fed, but not this human; he stared at the table as if he couldn't see it, and this time the withdrawal was not purely physical.

-x-

Their caterwauling could be heard long after the doors closed, and Sheryl gave the fireplace a bland look until an explosive bang ripped through the house. All the other Noah could conjure gates silently, but Jasdevi – or rather, Jasdero and Debitto, Jasdevi as a single Noah had slightly better manners – always had to be teenagers about it.

Perhaps it was an inside joke.

Sheryl Camelot sighed, stretching languidly and idly commanding a servant to bring him something warm to drink. It was quite chill, and working with Jasdero to get the details while leaving Debitto with the task of finding something else to do had not been the most elegant plan he'd ever devised.

Debitto's 'something else to do' had once again entered a kind of daze, and the bright pink, thoroughly fluffy thing sitting on the top of his head was certainly not helping. At this angle, it looked less like a wig and more like a tumble-dried hedgehog. Sheryl gave him a regretful look.

"I daresay they were no help at all."

The human didn't really respond, and Sheryl shook his head. "Take that ridiculous thing off."

It was a direct command, one that Sheryl had no doubt the Exorcist would obey, and he was not disappointed. It was apparent the food had perked him right back up; his uniform was gummed to his shins and calves, which had been cut not once but twice for his refusal to kneel to the other Noah. After the morning's mistake, he seemed intent to prove that it was just that, and Sheryl was fine with the consistent correction. It had happened once, and it had rattled him. It would happen again.

In fact, considering the other deficit his body was crying out for, it could probably happen right now.

Sheryl wandered over to the fireplace, dropping into an armchair with a great, gusty sigh, and he waited for his drink to be delivered before taking a sip – brandy warmed everything, but especially a nice, sharp cider – and gesturing.

"Come, boy."

His head came up – he had the strength to raise it, now, and to walk without too much difficulty – and his eyes were seeing, red rimmed from the smoke and heavy but actually looking out into the world again. The level three gave him several moments to obey, but when he did not, it grabbed him by the skin of the back of his neck and hauled him to his feet. Once up, he tripped over the knee-high pile of wigs and clothes but recovered, and without too much cajoling came to the center of the sitting area, to stand before the relaxing Noah.

"You heard the conversation, yes? Between . . ." He made a circular gesture at the mess, in which a wig for nearly every person Debitto knew could be found. "Did Debitto ever find an acceptable disguise?" All he could really remember was laughter, screeching, and the frequent bangs that Jasdero would fire over his shoulder without looking to see what his twin was up to.

The Exorcist blinked at him, silent as always, and Sheryl waited his normal polite span. "I think he . . . she . . . you know, I'm not actually sure I know which pronoun to use, isn't that frightful?" And to think that he did recall them calling the Exorcist 'androgynous-looking.' He was frankly amazed they knew what the word meant, considering their own appearance. Even as Jasdevi.

The Exorcist did not laugh, and Sheryl turned his gaze back to the fire. This was part of their routine, after all; a drink and conversation before Sheryl withdrew to have his evening meal. They had both skipped lunch thanks to the time it took to pry actual details out of Jasdero, but a promise was a promise, and he wondered if the Exorcist was still bothering to stay awake only to see if he would keep his word.

"We will sup in here, I think, a light meal due to the hour." With a thought he sent the level three to fetch the food, and for the first time in weeks, it left its position flanking the Exorcist and disappeared into the hall.

The human didn't appear to notice it had left, as silent as it was on the carpeting, and Sheryl finished his drink. "As I was saying before, you heard the conversation I had with Jasdero?"

It was important that he had, after all. Important that he know that all reports on his general's whereabouts were on the desk, in the upper right-hand corner in a neat stack. Important that he paid attention to every call and conversation Sheryl had. It was the reason the study was his prison for the daytime hours.

"Your companion on the Ark we abandoned, the Exorcist named Lavi . . . tell me about him."

It was not the first time he had asked for information on an Exorcist or the Order. Much of their conversations the first week had been on those subjects, mostly regarding the Exorcists that had been recruited by his general, Froi Tiedoll, and various details about the general himself. The purposes of those questions had been to give the boy a taste of what the Noah knew, but not the full picture. Let him wonder how much he could lie and not be discovered.

He had certainly discovered what lying would cost him. Once that cost had become apparent, he had moved on to his current strategy, which was to say nothing at all. For now, to give him the illusion of choice, Sheryl allowed it. It wouldn't be long before he associated compliance with reward, and reward with strength. That crack that had happened only this morning would widen considerably in the next few days, particularly if he could convince the boy to continue eating.

Once he got his strength back, he would determine that his first strategy had netted him nothing but handfeeding by a Noah. He would try compliance, he would call him master and kneel and obey, because he would think it a masquerade, a choice.

Until that illusion was stripped away as well.

For now, he was still too exhausted to make these decisions. He merely stood there, silently, and Sheryl hmmed discontentedly.

"It is very difficult to converse with someone that will not respond, but I too am grateful for the silence. The twins do grate on the ears quite a bit." He smiled fondly, slipping on the doting father role effortlessly. "Unlike my darling Rhode, ah, when next she visits I should ask her to sing for you. Such a sweet sound could never be heard outside the most exclusive concert halls . . ."

He regaled the worn Exorcist with a few short, meaningless anecdotes, carefully chosen for their specific content, and when the Akuma arrived with what the cook had prepared for them, Sheryl leaned forward to accept his plate, face thoughtful.

"You were too weak this morning to feed yourself, yet I am tired this evening as well. Do you feel you can manage? Or do you wish to ask Theodore for help?" It was the name he had chosen for the Akuma, far too close a derivative of Tiedoll for the boy not to make the leap.

After breaking his two-week fast, his hunger would be near unbearable, and from the way he shifted his weight, clearly the damage done to his shins and legs was unusually sharp this evening as well. Despite his fatigue, Sheryl watched the Exorcist think it over. Ask an Akuma to feed him, or accept the instruction from the morning and eat with a fork like a polite and civilized person. There was no way he had the strength to forgo the food.

It was hoarse, the first time he'd heard the Exorcist speak in over a week. "No."

He cocked an eyebrow. "No . . .?" It trailed off into a question, the human knew what was being asked of him now, no more than the rules, no more than the routine. There were so few, and they were so simple. He had already obeyed one, what was one more when a few thick slices of succulent duck breast were steaming in the air in front of him?

It was hard, very hard, and the second crack was audible in his voice. ". . . master."

Sheryl graced him with a pleased nod. "You can hardly eat standing, boy."

Just one more rule to follow.

For a brief moment, Sheryl thought he had pushed him too far. After a busy afternoon being dressed in easily a hundred different wigs as Debitto tried fruitlessly to find a way to disguise him, after all the explosions and the smoke and the beating Debitto had given him when he had refused to pose, he was nearly as tired as he had been that morning. But to be asked to do three things he hated, obey three rules all at once . . .

Haltingly, the Exorcist sank onto one knee, and then the other, tucking his tender legs beneath him in a manner that was less submissive and more suited for eating at a low table. A traditional Japanese position, something he wanted to train the boy out of, but even sitting on his feet he was technically obeying. Plus it had to hurt like hell, which pleased Sheryl. The Exorcist would see this less as submission and more as punishment, which was fine.

He allowed his pleasure to show, beaming at the young samurai. "Your behavior this afternoon was very disappointing, but I do understand how the twins can seem a bit much all at once. Take care not to spill anything on the carpet." Despite the fact that he was probably bleeding on it, now that the wounds would have opened again.

Though his hands shook, the Exorcist took up the knife and fork, exactly how he had been shown, and despite his hunger he released the silverware after every bite, so that the next few minutes were filled with nothing more but the pleasant clinking of metal on ceramics.

"Now," Sheryl murmured, washing down the bite of duck with a mild chianti, which the Exorcist had made no move to touch, "tell me about this Lavi."

He was under no requirement to answer, so he did not, and Sheryl hid his disappointment. The human did not realize there was a reward for it, and telling him would be far too much like bartering than demanding obedience. "Jasdero tells me he has but one eye, and was able to see through Deceiving Spectacles. Is he the apprentice Bookman that challenged Tyki Mikk in Edo?"

Just the absorbed repetition of taking a bite, putting down the fork, chewing, and swallowing. The discipline of not wolfing food seemed to be taking up all his available attention.

Sheryl let it go, setting his empty plate on the table beside the armchair and swirling what was left of the wine round the crystal glass. "I would expect the Order to assign a Bookman to your general, just in case I should approach him outright. It would be troublesome enough if I was to be seen, but if this Lavi's eyesight is so sharp as to see through Deceiving Spectacles, I wonder just how far he can see. Though my target is Tiedoll, I cannot risk this face being known among the Bookman Clan." He frowned. "I suppose they'd be easy enough to wipe out, but they do so amuse the Earl . . ."

The Exorcist had finished his meal by the time Sheryl had drained his glass, and though he probably could have eaten another portion he did not ask for more, nor did he touch the wine. The blood diverting to his stomach had sapped any energy he'd had left, and he merely sat, perfectly balanced, and stared straight ahead. Which was at Sheryl's knees, he had an excellent view of the firelight flickering on the Exorcist's face.

Two weeks ago the flames hadn't been empty reflection.

They remained in companionable silence, Sheryl waiting for the Exorcist to speak. He hadn't been lying; the twins had worn him out as well as adding a snag to his plans, the fact that once Skin was notified – and he would be now that the twins knew which Exorcist he had – he would demand access to the human that had killed him. If Allen Walker was not so kind-hearted, he was certain the Musician would have prevented the silly parasitic from bringing Rhode and Skin back with his Exorcist friends. They could not count on that kind of slip-up again, but in this case it was rather a pain. Skin could be _so_ tiring. And repetitive.

He opened his eyes with a start, realizing he'd drifted off at some point, and his lips quirked when he realized he wasn't alone. The Exorcist was sitting exactly the way he'd been at dinner, chin dropped to his chest, fast asleep.

That was the other thing he so desperately needed. Something he didn't get. Normally they didn't have supper together, because the Exorcist had refused to eat or behave. Normally when Sheryl left for his dinner, the Akuma took the Exorcist back to his room, where he was asked to swear allegiance to the Noah. Refusal or silence earned him pain, that did not abate until the sun rose, and he was taken to wash the night's tortures away in preparation for a new day.

But the routine was broken. Though he would have preferred the Exorcist equate entertaining him with escaping his nightly tortures, that lesson could be learned later.

Silently the Noah stood, surveying the Exorcist again, but he was deeply asleep, oblivious to his surroundings. Sheryl left him there, ordering the Akuma to do nothing, and retired for the evening.

It was just before dawn when Sheryl woke, pulling on his smoking jacket and padding silently back to his study. The Akuma was still there, watching his charge, and it appeared the Exorcist had eventually fallen over in his sleep, curling closer to the dying fire.

_Wake him at sunrise and ensure he is clean_.

-x-

**Author's Notes: ** Not much to say . . . we're seeing a bit more of the six weeks Kanda spent with Sheryl, and what Tiedoll has to say on the matter. As you might expect, the closer the confrontation between Sheryl and Tiedoll comes, the further along we get with Kanda's conditioning, and I expect they will meet very neatly in the middle.

You might also notice the chapters are getting longer. I can't help it! :wails:: I fail!!


	4. Doubt

Disclaimer in previous chapters. Please see Author's Notes at the end.

Also, I noticed a dropoff (if you can call it that) of reviews last chapter. Does that mean everyone's unhappy with the direction of the fic? Or you feel it's uninspired? I know the plot's nothing new, but it will be come three chapters from now. . .

-x-

**Present**

The White City.

If he didn't think about it, he could tell why it was called Belgrade. Where the Danube and Sava met had been a mecca of trade, bustling with all things Turkish and Greek, and the most alluring scales made the basis of their melodies, like the Russian gypsies but somehow with Oriental overtones-

If he didn't think about it, he could hear the music being played by an old man in a bright red vest, that had died four hundred years before he was born.

Allen's eyes flew open, horrified and dull silver in the mirror, and the lights continued flickering as the train flew across frosty Switzerland.

When the lights flickered, the shadow occasionally seemed to move behind him, occasionally seemed far more corporeal. It frightened him more than he could say.

**I've been there.**

Allen's mouth was dry. "I . . . I saw." In perfect, blinding detail. As if he had been here himself. As if he had been there yesterday.

The Musician's smile was inverted, blinding white in a shadow face. **You asked me to show you.**

". . . I know. Thank you."

**He does not approve.**

The pronoun in that statement could have been any one of many disapproving people, but Allen knew exactly who the shadow was talking about. The blond man who was pacing irritably in the hall outside, frustrated that the train bathrooms were too small to allow him to invade even this modicum of privacy for the compromised Exorcist Allen Walker.

For some reason, the Musician found his expression hysterical, shaking with silent laughter, and Allen frowned at his reflection, knowing full well that if Howard Link was standing in the room with him, he would see nothing but Allen's own face frowning back.

**There is nothing of interest there.**

Allen balled his fists at an impatient knock on the door.

"Your stomach would strip the iron off a wagon wheel before it would willingly give up food, Mr. Walker," the inspector's voice complained, muffled and annoyed. "You are not that ill. Come out at once."

_There is too_, he thought at the reflection, as hard as he could, and the Musician's grin slipped into something far too much like a smile.

**There is nothing of interest there,** it repeated, but Allen paid the shadow no mind. He could see that plaza clearly, that man in the short red sleeveless jacket, the man would be long dead but the plaza would remain. He could open a Gate to Belgrade.

He could open a Gate to where a Noah waited with open arms for General Froi Tiedoll and his team.

Komui must not have known that he had never been to this part of the world. Maybe he had simply assumed, as many did, that Cross Marian dragged him all over the known globe. Doubtless he never would have asked if he thought the only method of getting there would be the one he had chosen, but he had asked him to use the Ark to get there just the same. Two Criticals had to be enough to fight off a Noah, even a Noah that had had all this time to set his trap, didn't they?

Komui, who was trying so hard to protect him, to protect all of them, had asked him to go there. Knowing what breaking the rules could cost them both, Komui had asked him to go there.

Allen couldn't tell him no.

Making a Gate in the room was simple, a moment's concentration and the door appeared, just where the actual bathroom door was. Locking Link out, fitting snug between the walls. He passed through, hating the light that would have given away what he'd done, and was quick to close the door once he stepped out into the bright sunshine of the Ark's pavilion.

No matter what time, what season, it was always bright, sunlit, and temperate on the Ark. Much like late spring, his favorite season.

But that sunlight, it had to go. He could not appear in a bright golden doorway in the middle of a plaza in Belgrade at midnight. He would give himself away far too quickly, to the Noah and General Tiedoll both. If the Noah really was there, if this lead Komui was speaking of was real –

Six weeks of nothing, and finally a lead. Something for them to follow. He was not going to let that Noah know he was there until the last possible second.

But unfortunately, just wanting it to be twilight didn't seem to do much. He was not in the Musician's Room, there was no piano, no Heart of the Ark in front of him. Allen debated willing himself there, but his shadow started walking down the street quite without him, gesturing like an opera singer, and Allen followed those gesticulations up to the sky.

Was it really that easy? "Uh . . . can it be night now?" he asked tentatively.

The Ark did nothing.

The Musician said nothing.

Allen sighed a little, refusing to not think about the problem. If he didn't think about the problem, he was afraid the Musician would tell him the answer. He had already asked for one favor and he wasn't even sure he knew what it had cost him yet. He was not going to ask the Musician to explain something so relatively simple. "Ark, please, I need it to be dark because it's nighttime where I'm going, and-"

. . . and why didn't he just go into a dark room and open a Gate from there?

Allen could have slapped himself. Instead, he followed his shadow, which was most certainly singing opera, across the pavilion to a row of colorful houses. One door led to the old Tower, but several of the adjacent doors were not in use, and he opened one, tapping the floor inside with a cautious toe, lest there not be one.

But there was indeed a floor, a hard echoey one. It was nice and dark inside, and when he willed the next Gate and stepped out into a plaza that felt as familiar as any hotel his master had dragged him to in India, there was no light to announce his arrival.

And outside of feeling very comfortable with the plaza, he had no idea where he was in relation to the rest of the city. Unless he closed his eyes and specifically didn't think about Belgrade, unless he invited the Musician's help, he could be sure he was in the right city, but also sure he was completely lost.

Great.

Allen glanced around again, hoping for some sign, but like many cities, all the plaza buildings were three stories and it was hard to see anything past them. Things were very quiet; somewhere nearby a horse-drawn cart was moving at a pretty good clip, and distantly behind him he heard what sounded like a trainyard.

He was more likely to actually find the trainyard than chase a carriage around the city, and there might be a map, or at least people up at this hour there, so Allen headed in the direction of steam and rattling. It seemed that not a single street was straight; there were twists and turns everywhere, and streets he thought would curve right instead took sharp lefts. Only when he passed a house with a drunkenly hanging shutter for the third time did he realize he'd traveled down that street before, and he sighed at himself, rubbing the back of his neck and resisting the urge to sit on a doorstep and despair.

Getting here was the easy part, but how was he supposed to find the general? Or the Sremska Mamut, the bookstore Komui had told him was the meeting place? It was bound to be the same time here as it was where he'd left, which was just outside Zurich, so he only had four hours till dawn. Four hours to find the general, find the meeting place, and set up a trap of his own.

A trap the Noah could not escape. A trap that would give him the leverage to demand the return of Kanda.

A faint noise attracted his attention, and a shingle dropped into the gutter with an odd sort of ping. He caught a glimpse of grew feline paws and a tail flick, one that clearly said 'what do you think you're doing standing under my roof, boy?' and it was about that time he decided that maybe the streets weren't the best way to find what he was looking for.

Roofs, on the other hand, at least afforded him a path to move in straight lines. He made much better time, and the trainyard was the only well-lit structure around. It only took him perhaps ten minutes, leaping from roof to nearby roof, to find himself on the tops of storefronts facing the Lasta.

The roofs also afforded him the startling discovery that he was not the only unexpected Exorcist in the area, and it was with a sigh of relief that he dropped down onto the street, being spotted only a few seconds after.

"Allen? Oi, Allen!"

"Lavi! Bookman," he greeted, slightly less exuberantly. Luck was with him; surely the Bookman and his apprentice would know where such a famous bookstore was, and probably where the general was as well. Then again, the question of what they were doing just outside a train station where there was no train waiting was a little disconcerting. He'd heard a train, that had obviously been leaving – perhaps they'd taken it into the city? "When did you get here?"

Lavi grinned disarmingly, propping his arms behind his head and popping his back with an alarming crack. "Gigi and I got in a few hours ago. Hey, weren't you on a mission to Zurich?"

"Y-yes," he admitted, and began to wonder, with a sinking heart, if this meeting was lucky after all. "I, uh, got reassigned, sort of. In Switzerland they were talking about some strange sightings at a bookstore here in Belgrade, so I decided to come check things out-"

"For being so good at bluffing card sharks, you're a terrible liar," Lavi commented offhandedly, then winked. "Besides, Komui told us he was going to try to contact you. Everyone else was much too far out."

A little ball of tension in his stomach relaxed, just a little bit. It could be a bluff, but he didn't think so. No matter Bookman's silence and deep scowl. "Oh. Did he tell you . . .?"

"We arrived too late," the old man interjected, jerking his head as if gesturing someone over. Allen followed his gaze to where a large shadow was jogging towards them; when it crossed in front of one of the gas lanterns he recognized it as Chaoji. "The general and Noise Marie have already departed for their next location."

Allen hid his disappointment, waiting for the relatively green Exorcist to join them. He was out of breath, his Innocence oddly mobile on his wrist, as if it didn't weigh what it should have.

"Allen!"

"You shouldn't have come," Bookman continued, his voice gravel on frozen mud. "Using the Ark right under Inspector Link's nose-"

"Chaoji! Is it true? Has the general already left?" He wasn't looking forward to the eventual consequence of using the Ark to escape his required custodian, nor was he looking forward to being lectured _before_ he was lectured. Or worse. If Bookman was unhappy at being cut off, it wasn't any more obvious than his previous discontent.

Chaoji was fidgeting, not meeting his gaze. "They were here an hour ago, now nothing. No sign of them anywhere."

Lavi sighed, dropping his arms to unconsciously brush his Innocence, hanging at his belt. "Gigi and I missed the last train out, but nothing's to say they were on it-"

"I heard a carriage, heading north in a hurry when I arrived," Allen volunteered. "Do you think they were taken somewhere else by the Noah?"

"Unlikely. No sign of a struggle, and a general as seasoned as Tiedoll would not be so foolish as to follow one directly onto their Ark." He sounded certain of it, far more certain than Allen would be. Bookman had been sleeping when they'd been recuperating in the infirmary from their last jaunt in an enemy-controlled Ark, and hadn't seen – or heard – the way the general spoke to Kanda.

Then again, neither had he. All he had was Lavi's impressions of Kanda throwing things. Which he might also have shared with Bookman.

The four Exorcists exchanged thoughtful looks, and Chaoji hung his head, toying with his plain grey bracelets. Lavi put a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Don't take it so hard, Chaoji. I'm sure-"

"They left me behind," he finished quietly. "Because I'm not strong enough yet."

Lavi and Allen exchanged a near wince. "I doubt it's that," Allen attempted, voice bright. "You're stronger than all of us put together, Chaoji, it's just-"

"It's just you don't know Kanda quite as well as they do," Lavi finished. "We all know you'd risk your life for your general, but that's not a good enough reason, in his eyes. Noise Marie isn't risking his life because Tiedoll asked him to."

He was risking it for Kanda. A bond that was not forged between Kanda and Chaoji, and with the seaman a China-man, maybe never would be. Then again, Komui and Lenalee were Chinese too . . .

"But . . . but Kanda's a part of the crew," the squat, timid Exorcist protested. "It doesn't matter if I like him or not. He's one of us."

Allen just smiled, and did not think about how he'd been turned against just for wanting to rescue the damaged Tyki Mikk from the Ark as it had been disintegrating.

"He is," Lavi agreed soothingly. "But . . . well, you'd just have to know Kanda-"

"But I do know him." It was half a protest. "I would risk my life for him!"

"You cannot know if the Kanda you remember is the one we will find." Ever pragmatic, Bookman merely folded his hands into his sleeves. "Perhaps it is that Tiedoll wishes to shield you from."

It was a sobering thought, and led to a pretty lengthy silence while Lavi and Allen tried to find some way to turn it around. There wasn't one. Kanda had been in the hands of a Noah, alive, for six weeks. Chaoji had seen Tyki Mikk at his very worst, fought him at his very worst. Been there to see the Earl only minutes after being chosen as the accommodator for his Innocence. He had lost his beloved mistress, lost his crew, had only his two friends in all the world. Those two friends, and General Tiedoll.

It was no wonder he thought of Kanda as part of the 'crew'. Part of the grumpy, critical crew.

"Well, I guess we should split up then?" Allen offered, after the awkwardness was simply too heavy. "Some of us after the carriage, some after the train?"

"They went that way," Chaoji muttered, with a half-hearted gesture to the east. The way the train had gone. "But how can we follow? It was the last one this evening."

Only when his observation was met with silence did he seem to realize he'd said something extraordinarily stupid, and he withdrew further into himself, raising his shoulders slightly at their scrutiny.

"Uh . . . Chaoji? I thought you said you didn't see them-"

"I didn't have to." It was mumbled. "They're east."

"How do you know?" Bookman's voice held no condemnation, only curiosity.

Chaoji finally gave in to his need to fidget. "I just do." He bit his lip. "I always do. Even when Yun Yang fell overboard in the night and got caught up in the surface currents, I knew where he was. Just always have. It's . .. he's one of the crew," he repeated, almost helplessly. "And you never leave your crew . .. or your captain . . . behind."

As he'd had to leave Miss Anita behind.

Allen stared at him, unsure of what to make of this revelation. Instinct? Some inherent skill? There had been a time he was certain he could close his eyes and point to the exact spot his master was in any given town, but it had more to do with the sounds of easy women and the smell of cheap booze and expensive food than any real instinct. He certainly had no idea where Cross was right now. But what if Chaoji did? He was used to being on the sea, no landmarks, with the same people for long periods of time –

But they why hadn't he been able to find Kanda? Or had he been trying, all this time?

"Then we must head in that direction with all haste," Bookman murmured. "Lavi!"

"Huh? Oh!" He freed his Innocence from his belt, letting the head of the hammer fall towards the trainyard cobbles. "Ozuchi Kozuchi!"

-x-

**Two Weeks Ago**

"He wouldn't go!" It was childish and followed with a stamped food, and Kanda kept his eyes on the ground, staring at the edge of one slat of wood on the paneled floor to keep them from wavering.

"I kept telling him to keep going and he wouldn't!"

"That simply will not do. Even if it _was_ his first time on a bicycle." With a creak the chair bearing Sheryl Camelot's weight was relieved, and his normal unhurried stride brought him suddenly _there,_ right in front of him. "Why did you disobey her? Did you think you might upset the bicycle?"

"_Keep going, Exorcist," she purred, prim and still in the basket behind the ridiculous two-wheeled contraption she was forcing him to cart her around in. "Through those trees."_

_It was the first time he'd been outside, on the grounds, without Sheryl, and only the second time he'd seen them at all. But he was sure, as bad of shape as he'd been in when the rules had been laid out, that the tall pines marked the edges of the property. At least, the edges he was not permitted to cross._

_And Sheryl had been very clear on what would happen. Those devices, those 'Tease' that Tyki Mikk had placed inside his body, they would activate. Sheryl had described what would happen as 'incapacitation;' and knowing what he did about the Noah, incapacitation was probably close to death._

"_My apologies, Mistress Noah," he tried, keeping her title firmly in mind as something he would __**never**__ mean, "If I cross those trees I will be unable to bring you back to the house."_

_She surprised him by giggling. "Oh, you know? I wonder if Father saw, then . . ."_

_Kanda hesitated. Sheryl had been standing right there, he'd thought at the time that the Noah had specifically asked Tyki Mikk there for that very reason. To create a means through which he could not escape the house. Even now, with freedom literally in sight, he dared not move towards it._

_There was no point. He would be caught, brought back, and every inch of freedom he'd gained in the last week would be whisked away. What he needed was Sheryl's trust, he needed to make the Noah think he was broken and obedient. He needed to be made a larger part of the plan than just bait, and he wasn't going to accomplish that by continuing to cling to his pride._

_There was pride in deceiving the enemy._

"_Oh? Well, did he or didn't he, Exorcist?"_

_Kanda continued to hesitate. "I do not understand the question, Mistress Noah."_

"_You can call me Rhode-sama, that's what the Akuma in Edo called me," she offered airily. "Does my father know that Uncle Tyki disobeyed him? That if you cross the boundary there that you won't just be injured?"_

_He felt himself stiffen slightly, and she laughed in delight. "He doesn't, does he? Uncle Tyki can be terribly clever when he likes." He felt her hand, fingers warm and tiny, on the back of his neck, and it was difficult not to flinch from the soft contact. "He put one somewhere around here, when Father wasn't looking. He didn't trust you." Her voice dropped to a whisper. "I want to see if it will take off your head, Exorcist. So keep going, just through those trees."_

_He did nothing, remaining as he was with a foot on the ground as his mind spun miles ahead. Disobeying her would result in significant punishment; she was Sheryl's favorite, so the difference in damage to him would be slight no matter what he chose. Slow torture or quick death, were those the options? If he was bait, why would she want him dead before they'd succeeded in capturing his general?_

_And if she was telling the truth . . . would it be enough? Enough to kill him?_

"_Not going to do it?" Her voice was very close to his ear. "You deserve it, you know. For killing my Skinn. It's only fair."_

"I would have been unable to return her to the house, master," he murmured, keeping his head bowed, speaking softly in the study as he had been instructed.

The Noah's highly polished shoes remained before him, apparently deep in thought at being confronted with such a reasonable answer. He himself had given the order that Rhode should be taken all over the grounds and returned safe and sound, which he could not have done had he not disobeyed her. It was the safest answer he could give, and it was not a lie.

Sheryl had not asked him anything that would make him share the information Rhode had given him, and she didn't seem intent on sharing it, either. Perhaps it was untrue?

"Did you ask him to take you off the grounds, dearling?"

Rhode huffed. "I saw a pretty bird, Father! I wanted him to take me under the tree so I could look at it."

That was a lie, directly, but apparently she was allowed to get away with such things. And Kanda was reasonably sure it hadn't escaped Sheryl when he hmmed.

"You are not to disobey a Noah for any reason, human."

There was nothing to say to that but agreement. "Yes, master."

"Yet you have done so."

"Yes, master."

"And I suspect my daughter did this on purpose." Rhode giggled, and Sheryl sighed. "Unfortunately I still have several hours of work to finish. Perhaps the two of you can play indoors? There's a present in your room."

The pitter-patter of tiny feet was silenced by a squeal of happiness, and Rhode was out of the study like a tornado. Kanda hesitated, then moved to follow, but an immovable hand was placed on the crown of his head, pushing him back to one knee.

"Do not believe I am fooled, boy." The Noah's voice was very soft. "You chose to disobey her not for her welfare or mine, but for yours. You would have been better off obeying her, and I will not save you from this mistake."

Kanda braced for a strike but none came. The Noah left his hand there without summoning dark matter, without so much as tightening it. The pressure was not painful, just sufficient to leave him there, on one knee, when Rhode came barreling back into the room.

"Can we go play in his room? Can we?"

"Of course, darling. Theodore will show you where it is." The hand disappeared, but Kanda didn't move a muscle. "Do you like your surprise?"

"Jasdevi tried really hard," she observed, and then her little black shoes were in front of him, and her fingers were tilting up his chin. He closed his eyes when he saw something pointed coming directly for the left one, but it wasn't painful. She dragged the soft, cool thing down his forehead and over his eye to his cheek with an odd scribble, and then it was gone. He opened his eyes in time to see a spiky white wig in one of her hands, and a red marker in the other.

"We're going to play pretend," she warbled happily, the sound eerily innocent to be coming out of a face that was anything but.

-x-

He stared down at the pile of flesh, toeing it after a moment to see if it would move.

It didn't.

"My darling daughter, I do believe you've killed him."

Rhode hmphed, coming to lean against his side, and he put an arm around her narrow shoulder. So adorable . . . it was almost enough to give him a nosebleed. Not that the floor _needed_ more blood. He was glad she'd decided to play in the Exorcist's room. The drain he'd had installed in the middle of the floor had proven to be the most useful addition to the house he'd had done yet.

"He was breathing a little while ago," she complained, with an odd note of discontent in her voice, and he brushed a hand lightly through her hair.

"What's the matter, dear? Did you not enjoy yourself?"

"He's not Allen." It was heartbreakingly disconsolate. A blood-soaked white wig was barely visible in the mess, and Sheryl tilted his head sideways to get a better look at the damage. He whistled.

"That's what you want to do to Allen Walker?"

"Oh, no," she cooed, instantly warming to her subject. "Allen wouldn't live through all this all at once. Besides, he would have cried much sooner." She gestured at the mass that was formerly his project. "I wanted to see him cry, but he wouldn't."

Sheryl cocked his head further to the side. "Can people actually cry without their eyes?"

"Of course." Rhode said it without a trace of hesitation. "But he wouldn't cry at all, no matter what I did." The discontent was back. "Allen would have."

"Ah, but Allen is softhearted," Sheryl reminded her. "And the Musician is as well."

"Do you remember him, Father?"

Sheryl shook his head, ruffling her hair again. "I only knew him for a short while. I know I'm old, dear, but I'm not _that_ old."

Her face had taken on a thoughtful look. "I hope they get along really well," she finally decided. "That way Allen-kun can play for longer."

The Exorcist wheezed in a bubbly breath and his daughter blinked in surprise, then stepped forward and yanked out a strategically placed candle. The human twitched, then exhaled in a whoosh, and Sheryl frowned when nothing else happened.

"If you were anyone else, I would make _you_ go ask Lulubell to pose as him for me."

She grinned up at him affectionately. "But I'm cute?"

"Devastatingly."

The body shuddered again, with an odd bluish glow that was visible beneath the candlelight, and both the Noah watched with fascination as it took a shallow breath.

"Allen _definitely_ can't do that."

-x-

Apparently the boy hadn't realized a wet rag had been laid across his eyes until Sheryl removed it to freshen it, and he smiled when the Exorcist flinched. Consciousness was quick to return to him; his body began to shiver with adrenaline, his pulse pounding fast and hard enough to be visible along his throat. He carefully twisted one of his wrists, as if expecting to be bound, and his jaw clenched at some internal pain.

Then the Exorcist sopped breathing altogether.

Sheryl couldn't stop a dry chuckle, tossing the rag into the basin of water and placing it on the nightstand. "Are you awake, boy?"

The Exorcist took a few quick breaths, effort to slow them evident, and Sheryl imagined he was running himself through a calming exercise. Which was not the direction he was given. "Your master spoke to you. You should answer. Open your eyes."

The Exorcist's trembling became more pronounced, but he did not obey, and his breathing remained elevated and erratic. For the first time in a long time, the human seemed afraid.

The thought pleased the Noah all the more. If he had done what Rhode had asked of him, he wouldn't be in this position. At least now he knew. "Come, boy. Open your eyes. I went to a great deal of trouble to give them back to you, you know."

Finding the Skulls that had tended Tyki was a pain, but in truth he was the first human to be healed by the otherwise useless magicians in probably close to twenty years. And even as skilled as they were, chosen by the Earl himself to treat Tyki, they had barely been able to prevent the cursed human from teetering off the brink into death. In hindsight it really hadn't been worth the effort; he didn't need the human to complete his goals. But the Earl didn't seem to mind his borrowing them for a couple days, and the human was now wholly healed.

The young samurai contemplated his situation a moment longer, or perhaps he mastered his fear, and his eyes squinted open. Just barely. They were swollen and bloodshot, pupils extremely dilated, but after examining the ceiling for a moment they crawled in his direction, blinking once they got there.

He gave the Exorcist an approving sort of look. "So you can still see. I had my doubts; the Skulls are still unfamiliar with your curse, as you're well aware." If he recalled any of their early attempts to rid him of it. Sheryl was rather glad they'd never quite figured out how, though he was similarly rather upset that he hadn't thought to look at the tattoo closely until it had crawled halfway across the boy's stomach. It had changed again, after Rhode was done with him, it was obviously linked to damages he suffered, but sometimes it changed and sometimes it did not.

No matter. It was not a discussion for the present, certainly, not when the boy's nearly black eyes were fixed on him.

"Will you disobey my daughter again, human?"

The boy's adam's apple jerked in his throat, a half swallow, and his chapped lips parted. ". . . no. Master."

It had a certain ring to it. Not a plea, too early for that, but something in the human had changed, and Sheryl swelled with pride. Rhode must have had all manner of fun with him, as she dreamt of tormenting Allen.

Such a twisted little thing.

"You cost me a great deal of time and effort, boy," he started, standing and not missing the second, less defined flinch. "And you have been a great disappointment to me. From now on, you will complete tasks for me, to repay me for my kindness to you." It was time, even if it took longer than expected. "Every time you disobey me, no matter how slight, you will be punished. Silence is no longer an option for you."

The adam's apple moved again, and Sheryl's eye was drawn to his pulse, fluttering there just beneath his skin. For the first time in quite a while he was fascinated by it, he wanted to sink his teeth into it, let the Exorcist bleed out and fade there before his eyes.

The boy took another unsteady breath. "I understand, master."

Sheryl gave him a long look, finding himself in admiration of his restored skin. So transparent, so pale. Some of it had never seen sunlight, between the boy's curse and the magicians' spells it was perfect. It slid along his jaw, no longer dangling in pieces but a single continuous feature, as he fought for whatever words Sheryl wanted to hear.

Ah. He had not responded to the boy. "I believe you do," he murmured. For perhaps the first time. "I believe my daughter's treatment has improved you."

The boy managed to meet his eyes only a moment more, then averted his own, still open, he hadn't been given permission to close them. He did not make any motion to get up, nor to move. It was the first time he'd been on a bed since he left his own for his mission, and he still wouldn't have been on one if the Skulls hadn't required him to be elevated so they could draw their circles.

"You may sleep here the rest of the night." A very magnanimous gesture, one he hoped the human appreciated. Also on the recommendation of the Skulls, who were apparently not certain his internal organs would remain in their correct configuration if he started bouncing off the walls. "In the morning, we will have breakfast, and a proper conversation."

The boy inclined his head as best he could, chin touching his chest, and Sheryl was struck by the resemblance. It wasn't perfect by any means, he was far too thin, his hair far too short, but for a glorious moment, it had been there. Just a shadow.

And he cast his eyes to the corner, where Rhode had sorted haphazardly through the hundreds of wigs to find the one that reminded her best of Allen Walker, and combed over them with his eyes until a particular curl caught his eye.

And wondered if there wasn't something to that pastime of hers.

-x-

**Author's Notes**: Longer still. I fail at short stories. Only one more week of Kanda's time with Sheryl will be revealed before the flashbacks end, and then we get to the good part – what happens after. Thanks, everyone, for the kind words! I'll try to put the next chapter out a bit faster. Maybe that will keep the length down a bit. ; )


	5. The Train

Disclaimer in previous chapters. Please see Author's Notes at the end.

-x-

**Present**

He would never forget that sound, not if he lived a hundred more years. Last car, the luggage car, already displacing air. It was opening slower than the one at headquarters, more quietly, but there was simply no mistaking it.

A Gate. A Gate to the Ark was being opened on the train. Right in front of the heartbeat.

It didn't matter if Kanda was able to open it with a token from a Noah, or the Noah himself was on the train with them. All that mattered was that he was two cars away from Kanda and closing fast, there were few people on the late night train, few hostages, few obstacles. The general was only a car behind him, looking for what his ears might miss, and his golem was active.

"A Gate is opening in the caboose!"

A woman gasped to his right but he ignored her, his own shout echoing back to him had given him the lay of the land. He flew across the car, fumbling a moment with the door before icy air slapped him sharply, and he was wrenching open the door of the next car, leaving the previous still open despite half-formed protests from the passengers he'd left behind.

Thirteen so far. Thirteen other people on the train. Possibly Akuma, possibly Noah, possibly not. There was no Noah with Kanda in the caboose; there was only one heartbeat. A simple, obvious trap, luring them to Kanda so they could cut the link to the rest of the train and free him -

So the Noah was Gating him out.

It was far too straightforward. Nothing about this felt right.

The new car seemed unoccupied, no sound of Akuma but many rodents, a baggage car of some kind. A good place for a trap. With a flick of his fingers he extended his Innocence, sweeping it along the floor in his path as he ran. He caught nothing, just the planks of the wooden floor, and the sound of the Gate opening stopped.

It was fully open.

By the time he had the handle of the caboose door in his hand, the Gate was starting to close.

_Wait._ It was on the tip of his tongue, even as he wrestled the door open and Noel Organon was streaking for the closing portal. He would have to withdraw it before the Gate closed or risk damaging his Innocence, risk its strands for a person he could not be completely certain was Kanda. The heartbeat, it was the same as the tower, it was the same as they'd been tracking on the train since it left the station, the one that neither came closer to their car nor further away, clearly waiting for them to come to him -

But the portal was closing. He did not wish to lead them onto the Ark?

There was the unmistakable sound of thin metal slicing air, and Noel Organon was cut. Marie hesitated only a moment before gesturing with his other hand, putting all of his eggs in one basket.

If this was a trap, he could trust the general was right behind him.

"Kanda, wait-!"

The Gate was closing faster than it had opened. Before the Innocence had traveled even half the distance to the back of the caboose, Marie curled his fingers, recalling it. In another moment the Gate was gone.

Cutting Noel Organon with dark matter was not damaging. Letting a piece of it be severed by a Gate, that would be something that would require Komui's assistance to fix. He might lose that part of his Innocence forever.

But if that really was Kanda, he'd have another chance. His purpose could not have been simply to lead them onto the train. If he had been given a token by a Noah, if he could open a Gate to wherever he liked and he had not used that power to escape, it meant-

The general's boots were behind him, so he stepped all the way into the caboose, listening. Perhaps Kanda had brought them to the most isolated part of the train to give them a letter, or some other communication. The next leg of their journey?

"Marie-"

"He is gone." Perhaps if he hadn't hesitated- but no. Whoever he'd been following had a weapon forged from dark matter. Only that would have been strong enough to cut Noel Organon. He would have cut the second attempt to snare him as easily as he'd cut the first. When taking out an opponent with a blade, Marie always used both hands. Since he hadn't heard it being drawn, he could only assume Kanda had been carrying it bare the whole time. Anticipating their attempts to capture him.

Because their best bet was to catch him before they stepped into the Noah's trap. And Marie had a feeling they'd just done that.

Still, even if the caboose detached, he could easily catch the rest of the train. He heard nothing that indicated the mixing of chemicals or explosives. In fact-

The train's whistle blew, and he frowned a little at the deafening noise, almost missing Tiedoll's exhale. It carried a heaviness that indicated disappointment.

"Did he say anything?"

Marie shook his head, waiting for the whistle to die. "Nothing. He is carrying a bladed weapon."

"Oh?" It was a rather hollow reply, making it difficult to tell what the general thought of this revelation, and Marie sharpened his attention, trying to hear past the train's steam-powered whistle. It wasn't hard to ignore very loud sounds for softer ones, it just took more concentration-

The clockwork clatter was very faint, and it occurred to Marie that the train would not be blowing its whistle in the middle of a forest in the middle of the night unless there was an obstruction on the track.

Like an Akuma.

"General-"

"I thought as much," he interrupted easily, and there was the sound of Tiedoll's Innocence striking the floor of the caboose, just as the brakes started screaming. "_Art!_"

He once again extended Noel Organon, wrapping it around the frames of the caboose and adjoined car before reaching past them for the trees. Both were trying to slow the train, not stop it outright; at this speed, they would kill as many as if the train collided with the Akuma directly.

But the train could not stop in time, even with their help; there was shearing metal and the earthen crack of countless hands reaching out of the very earth to drag long fingers against the sides of the cars. Marie tightened his fists, bracing his feet on a raised plank of the floor and leaning back almost horizontal with the ground in an effort to hold his position.

The frames twisted as his Innocence cut into them, but with the hands of Art helping, they kept the majority of the cars from derailing, and the train was brought to a jarring stop. Most of the passengers were calling out, but he heard no faltering heartbeats, and Marie leaned up slowly, only recalling his Innocence when he heard the general straighten.

And the Akuma start swearing.

"You did not destroy it."

"Hn." It was both thoughtful and a negative. " I'd like to speak with it a moment. How are the passengers?"

"Relatively unhurt. I will see to them, master."

Tiedoll did not ask him if there were more Akuma in the area, which there were not, and it took him some time to move through the cars, reassuring the passengers. His golem flapped behind him, still trying to contact Chaoji, and he turned his ears to the conversation in front of the train.

The Akuma was struggling in Art's hand, one of seven that remained fully formed, helpfully pushing the engine back onto the track and bending the metal wheels with tart screeches. The Akuma found the giant hand painful; its every exhale was harsh.

"What was your purpose here, demon?"

A high-pitched laugh, and Marie stepped back to allow the frightened young woman to be helped up by someone other than a very tall, very imposing man with much darker skin than she was accustomed to seeing. She was polite but her fear was evident, and it was hard to tell if she was otherwise hurt.

"My pur-my purpose! A-hah-hah! My purpose was to find you, Exorcist!"

"I see," the general's distinct, soothing voice replied. "And now that you have, what would you make of me?"

Another wheeze, even being in Art's grasp was painful, and the Innocence would be longing to free the soul trapped within. "It's enough – enough that you are finally here, Exorcist! We waited and waited, but . . . you never came! Six long weeks-" It gasped suddenly, and Marie couldn't help but mirror it.

His general did not falter in the slightest. "I am not difficult to find. You must not have looked very hard."

"Six weeks – six weeks you left him!" The speech pattern of the Akuma was odd, and Marie worked his way towards the engine, where he heard the quiet swearing of an older man, possibly the engineer. His single light would probably be trained on the Akuma in the general's grasp, and Marie was sure it was a sight to behold.

Six weeks? Did that mean that Kanda had been in the hands of the Millennium Earl for six weeks? But surely that was impossible. Komui would have known, someone would have gone looking for him after such a long absence, it simply couldn't be-

"I am here now. Where would your master have me go next?"

The Akuma laughed again, high and panicked. "He wants to show you himself!"

The Noah.

Marie stilled, understanding finally just how much of a distraction the entire thing had been. One level three was more than sufficient to destroy a train, but it was no match for a general. It was there to confirm that Tiedoll was really on the train, probably to confirm just how many Exorcists were actually on the train, but then why would a Noah want them in a forest in the middle of the night.

The heartbeat from the clock tower was there. Slow and steady, as though it had never left. Maybe half a mile due south.

So it wasn't Kanda at all? It was the shapeshifting Noah, Lulubell? But then, the sigh he had heard . . . could anyone truly impersonate Kanda so well?

"Are you all right?" He put a hand out to steady the overalled man, covered in dust and ash but unhurt.

"Aye, son, but th' train, she's nobbut a brick now."

"Then let us hope he is here. May you rest in peace." His general's voice was ever unperturbed.

Marie stepped between the engineer and the impending explosion, though it did no damage to the train, and after confirming that the engineer was all right and attempting to raise Lasta on the radio, it occurred to him that his own golem was still flitting silently over his shoulder.

Marie bent the engine's door open, hopping out onto the frozen ground below, and the last of Art's hands sank back into the earth.

"I cannot contact Chaoji."

"No, I don't expect you can." He didn't seem worried by this in the slightest, tucking Maker of Eden back into its place. "It would be quite foolish to allow us to call in reinforcements. Have you found the Noah?"

This would not be good news. "I have found the one we followed onto the train."

"Oh?"

Marie frowned, keeping tabs on it as the heartbeat waited patiently for them to make up their minds. Continue into the woods or protect the train? Staying where they were probably heightened their chances of surviving, but endangered civilians. Marie already knew what his general would decide, and he didn't disagree.

Even if it wasn't Kanda, they knew all too well that the Earl had him, or at least had had him. He was either still a captive or he was dead, and even if the chance was slim-

"General . . . the voice, it sounds like Kanda, but his heart . . ."

"I would be amazed if it sounded the same," Tiedoll replied, in that same controlled voice that hid everything. Hiding it from him. "I saw his silhouette when he boarded the train ahead of us. He is much thinner than our Kanda-kun, his hair is quite short. I did not see his weapon, though. Perhaps it was already on the train."

It took time to lose weight, especially for Kanda. Six weeks . . . could it be true? Could he have been in the Earl's grasp so long without anyone being the wiser?

Is that how he was able to open a Gate? Without a Noah being present? "General-"

"We'll worry about the implications later." It was a direct order. "For now, let's see if he will tell us any more than the Akuma did."

Catch him before they made it to the next destination. Just like a practice session.

He gave a nod and headed directly for the heartbeat, listening for his general to make a move. For a brief string of moments it appeared this was a ruse, and not for the Noah, or for Kanda, but for him. Tiedoll didn't move an inch from the train, and Marie's heat sank. So the general believed the Noah was still on the train, always had been, and had sent him to deal with Kanda – or whoever that was – while he fought alone.

But then the general set off, in a wide arc that would lead him fairly unerringly to where the heartbeat stood, waiting for them.

It didn't stand still long.

The forest was thick and cold, sound carried well but pointed him toward few openings, something like a deer trail. It didn't lay in a straight line, either, though it still seemed to take him in the general direction of the heartbeat. And because it was necessary for him to make some sound, since so little was naturally present, he was giving his target everything he needed to evade him.

He couldn't use Noel Organon in this place and his target knew it. All that increasingly faster heartbeat had to worry about was staying out of Maker of Eden's reach. And as frustrating as it was, Marie knew the target was paying him only secondary attention.

If Akuma attacked them now –

But none did. The woods were perhaps a mile wide, but then the large trees started giving way to shrubs, and Marie could sense a large clearing ahead of him. He weighed the opportunity to capture the target with waiting for his general, but then he heard light footsteps leaping up a set of rock stairs.

So Kanda wanted them to follow him into the house.

His feet scuffed the stone as he climbed the stairs, and the many echoes gave Marie all the picture he needed. The estate was massive. Easily four stories, almost a quarter mile wide, with the same sprawling design as any old house that had been gradually added onto until it was a massive structure of multiple buildings all interconnected. The doors were a very heavy hardwood, heavier than they should have been, and Marie waited on the edge of the forest.

Tiedoll found him easily enough, and neither of them were winded from the mile run. As Kanda slipped into the house, though, the echo of his breathing came back to Marie – it had taken him a greater effort, too much effort. Tiedoll had said he was thinner; had he been wasting away until he submitted, until the Earl or the Noah could use him in this fashion?

If his eyes could see, would they find a pentacle on Kanda's forehead?

The general whistled. "It's a very fine house."

It probably was. Perhaps it was even the house of a Noah. "The door has been reinforced."

"I wonder, though, if that's to keep people out or in." Tiedoll blew out a sigh, then started walking quite openly across the lawn.

Of course, it didn't really matter if the door had been reinforced or not. The general was still going to knock, and politely ask for his pupil back.

So Marie followed him obediently until they were scuffing their way up the stairs that Kanda had tread not two minutes ago, and when his general knocked on the door, it swung open. Just a little. Which meant it was well-hung, since each one had to weigh at least eight hundred pounds.

"Good evening?"

No one answered him, and after a moment Tiedoll pushed the door open the rest of the way. It did not creak.

"Come, come, let's not let all the heat out." He stepped through and Marie followed quickly, lest the door shut him out. It did not, and he closed it just enough that the chill breeze was cut, but the door itself was still ajar. If the door was indeed reinforced, it could simply be to slow their escape. Regardless of cold weather, he didn't want to be responsible for closing the trap behind them.

It seemed like something a Noah would design.

The smell of cooking, in a kitchen a floor down, filled the air. Cranberry stuffed goose, roast potatoes, chicken paprika, beans and sauerkraut - a full dinner. It was humans and not Akuma preparing the food, at least four, and another several upstairs. It took him a moment to realize there was a faint buzz in his ears, but it wasn't interfering with his hearing – the heartbeat he was looking for was due north, in what sounded like a very long, very wide room. A ballroom or dining room. It was not the only heartbeat he heard there, and he indicated that with a tilt of his head. "Someone is with him."

Despite his focusing on the second heartbeat, once he had become conscious of the buzzing, he could not ignore it. It seemed to be coming from the walls themselves, and Marie concentrated on the one to his right while his general shambled unhurriedly for the room he had indicated.

"What is it?" An undertone, too soft for most humans to hear.

Unfortunately, Tiedoll could not hear as sharply as Marie could, and his answer had to be silent. He gestured to the right wall and ceiling, then tapped his headphones. It didn't quite convey 'the walls are humming and I can't tell why just yet' but it did convey 'there's something about the structure that I can hear and don't like.' He did not include his usual signal for Akuma because this sound was . . . not. He wasn't sure how he knew, he just did. It was too steady and too soft, more like electricity, but not the right pitch.

And it wasn't just the foyer walls. It was all of them, every one they passed as they crossed the great hall and into another hall, then turned at a set of doors standing open and entered the ballroom.

The ballroom, in this case, had been converted into a massive eating hall. The table must have been forty yards in length, and there were hundreds of chairs along its sides. No food had been served yet, and Marie did not hear the sympathetic ring of plates or silverware as they strode into the room, so it had not been set for the meal yet.

The body that wasn't Kanda's took a breath. "Welcome." The voice was completely unfamiliar, laced with a kind of dry humor, as if the speaker knew just how ridiculous his greeting was. "You'll forgive the lack of lighting, I didn't expect you quite so early."

Then it occurred to him; he didn't actually hear the hum of electricity. Therefore there wasn't any, at least not in these walls. There was a massive fireplace to the left, ensuring the room was warm, but no hiss or odor of gas lamps. So it was the only light in the room, and insufficient to brighten the corners, where the two other people in the room were standing.

"I too was surprised when the train left on time," Tiedoll murmured agreeably. "I apologize for disturbing you at this late hour . . .?" He left it hanging, searching for a name, and the Noah – for it could be nothing else – chuckled lightly.

"My name is rather inconsequential, don't you agree?" The slightest of pauses, most likely a glance. "But I suspect if you asked my companion nicely, he might share it with you."

The figure he was still having difficulty calling Kanda in his head held his breath a moment, clearly surprised to have been addressed, and Marie realized that his back was facing them. He had entered the room and come to stand beside the Noah, and had yet to turn around.

"If you do not wish to share your name, that is your choice." Somehow the comment didn't sound judgmental in the least. "But as you've brought up the subject of your companion, I would like to discuss the purpose of my visit."

"In truth, I expected you weeks ago." The other's voice was far too silky, far too practiced, and Marie sharpened his ears at this obvious delay. Still, even around the buzzing, he heard no sound of Akuma. Perhaps the trap was the buzzing itself? Did it indicate magic at work that could hamper their Innocence?

"I am sorry to disappoint."

The Noah laughed. "I am certain now that it was through no fault of your own. Rather, I believe your headquarters' direct superior, Komui Lee, determined that if he revealed what had transpired to you, you would do as you have done. Intelligent, I suppose, but in your shoes I would be somewhat unhappy with him."

So they knew about Komui. Of course, the Noah Lulubell had been at the headquarters for days before she was detected. This was nothing new. Of course the Noah would want them to turn on each other. Of course he would want to instill doubt and distrust.

But six weeks . . .? How could Komui not have known Kanda was missing?

It was then that Marie realized the true significance of the fact that he did not recognize the blade Kanda was using as Mugen.

His general remained calm, he'd either already come to these realizations or he'd determined they didn't matter. "Komui and I will speak after this matter is settled. In the meantime, if you would be so kind as to return my wayward pupil to me, I will be on my way."

The Noah took a deep breath, held it a moment, then expelled it slowly through his nose. "Boy, do you wish to leave with the general?"

Addressing the eighteen year old Kanda as boy was insulting enough, and Kanda's heart rate increased, but his answer was anything but enraged. It was soft, soft enough that perhaps if the room hadn't been so quiet, or the fire had crackled at the right time, Tiedoll would not have heard it.

"No, master."

It was still Kanda's voice. Gentle, respectful Kanda. Marie had only heard it during their training, when Kanda was reminded why it was he was following Froi Tiedoll, when he had learned something valuable or Tiedoll had given him new wisdom. It was a voice reserved for those with recognized authority, and even then only sparingly.

And the title 'master' was reserved only for the man standing beside Noise Marie.

Marie clamped down on his reaction, lest it really had escaped the general's ears. Even if he was playing along, there would have been something, some characteristic by which he would have given away his hatred. It would have been in his voice, in his breath, in the creaking of his tendons as his hands curled. His heart was beating faster, it was true, but not with the same urgency, the same coiled energy.

There was no anger, no pride. He meant the words genuinely.

"It appears he does not wish to leave with you, general. But perhaps he will change his mind over supper. You are welcome to join us, if you like."

The way he said it told Marie that supper was not the goose being prepared downstairs. Tiedoll's mustache whispered as the general smiled. "It would be such a shame to destroy the house. It is quite beautiful."

Teeth were bared across from them, the same smile. "It pleases me to hear you say so. I am rather fond of it myself."

"Yet you will not change your mind?"

"He did not tell me you were so arrogant, Froi Tiedoll. I'm giving you the opportunity to save the only fledgling Exorcist you have left." The sound of cloth on cloth, a sharp gesture. "Excluding Chaoji Han, of course, but I have serious doubts he's experienced enough to handle a single level two." He said it offhandedly, lightly despite the weight of the words. "I hope you prepared him. Beograd is a dangerous city at night."

Tiedoll shifted his weight, readying Maker of Eden. "We are not leaving without Kanda Yuu."

The Noah paused a moment, considering their impasse. "I was rather hoping you'd leave off the Kanda, I had a lovely quip planned. You do realize the correct pronunciation of his name is Yuu Kanda? This is Europe, not Edo, General Tiedoll." The voice shifted, the Noah had turned to Kanda. "He's the reason you still had all those savages' habits, isn't he."

When Kanda didn't respond, the Noah sighed. "So be it. Good evening, Froi Tiedoll, Noise Marie." The Noah took a step towards Kanda, and both he and the general tensed-

And then the Noah continued walking right past him, towards a door on the far end. Kanda did not follow him.

It was still obviously a trap, the Noah was not leaving him with them without a struggle – perhaps he had instructed Kanda to fight them? – but it didn't stop his general from trying, one more time. "Come, Yuu. It's time to leave this place."

Kanda remained exactly where he was, back facing them, and took a breath. His actual words were a long time coming, the Noah was almost out of the room altogether before he finally spoke.

"I hate this trait about you."

Then the walls exploded.

-x-

**Author's Notes**: You may have noticed that I just ended this chapter where you would normally find a flashback. That's because I have failed in my experiment. Actually, I've failed several parts, but the first and foremost was to write a simply plotted short fic. PAA got WAY out of hand, and I wanted to see if I could write something simple and basic and uncomplicated, and _short._

The flashback is as long as what you've just read, so the answer is no. I can't. Oh well. ; ) The next chapter will be nothing but flashback, and then there won't be any more flashbacks so I won't be trapped in my self-imposed format. Yay!

Thank you, all of you who replied to my questions last chapter! Since I'm trying something new in a new fandom it's hard to tell if I'm not pulling it off or you folks just like to lurk. Special thanks to Dandelion In a Vase, Shinigami's Voice and kayter for giving me the lo-down on what you were thinking and impressions!


	6. The Summer House

Disclaimer in previous chapters. Please see Author's Notes at the end.

**Content Warning**: Mildly explicit content and some coarse language.

-x-

**One Week Ago**

In hindsight, he probably should have checked.

"You-!"

Sheryl Camelot put up his hands placatingly. "As I was just saying, he's-"

The human didn't flinch, waiting for the blow though the Noah knew he'd seen it coming. Technically he'd warned him an hour ago that it could occur, but he hadn't expected it so soon after stepping through the Gate. He'd barely gotten to speak with Tyki before the most useless member of the family – and it wasn't Debito, so that was saying something – had lumbered up.

And of course recognized the human, even though the Exorcist looked nothing like he had back then. Sheryl took the time to wonder about that as Skinn Boric grabbed his project by the head, lifting him bodily off the ground.

"Skinn, did someone tell you I was bringing him?"

"I won't forgive you," the giant Noah snarled, dragging the Exorcist to eye level. "I won't-"

"Oh, put him down." Tyki might as well have been ordering a puppy to stop chewing on his shoelaces. "He's quite harmless now."

"Unforgivable!" Skinn continued, and only the Exorcist's face gave away his pain. He did not even attempt to grab Skinn's wrist, his arms hung limp at his sides. He just waited for the inevitable death that was surely coming.

Hmm. That much trauma to his brain, it might actually-

Sheryl blinked, dropping his carefree posture. "Skinn, stop. He is necessary." The boy was doing nothing because he wanted death? Or was it because he thought resisting would be disobeying?

Skinn didn't listen to any of them, Rhode was the only one who could get his attention besides the Earl and both were conspicuously absent. Sheryl glanced at Tyki, Tyki could stop this, but he didn't seem to grasp the significance of the boy dying _this particular way_, he was smoking, with his eyebrows almost buried in his hairline-

Sheryl turned back to Skinn, and realized that the other Noah was quiet. He was staring quite hard at the human, now panting with the pain of having his skull crushed, and a lollipop paper stuck out of the corner of Skinn's mouth like a toothpick. His brow was furrowed and his beady eyes were almost completely swallowed.

"You . . ." he snarled again, then shook his head. Without another word he hurled the trash in his hands away, and the Exorcist slammed into the dark-paneled wall so hard the wood shattered. He slid to the floor in a shower of rather festive splinters, but after a moment a faint cough told Sheryl the human's head was still intact.

He found himself staring at Skinn in a mirror of Tyki, who looked absolutely stunned.

"Why did you do that?"

Skinn glared at both of them, as if he hadn't just done something extraordinary. "It isn't him," he said, in the same hoarse voice, and crunched through what was left of the lollipop.

Tyki cocked his head to the side. "That human _is_ the Exorcist that fought you on our first Ark."

He received a grunt in reply, and Skinn curled his lip in dissatisfaction as he pulled the lollipop stick out of his mouth to find it bare of sugar. "It's not him," he repeated, and with a frown he stumped away, long coat trailing behind.

Sheryl watched him walk a moment, then let his eyes flick to Tyki without otherwise blinking or turning his head. His brother was staring not at Skinn but at the Exorcist, his lips slightly pursed. He raised a hand as if to take the cigarette from his mouth, but stopped midway, and with sudden, long strides he crossed the hall to where the Exorcist was struggling to his knees.

"Brother, whatever are-"

Tyki didn't answer him. He grabbed the Exorcist by the throat, pinning him to the damaged wall, and with his head still cocked, more in irritation than curiosity, he reached through the human.

From Sheryl's angle, it appeared the ember of his cigarette was doing the talking. It bobbed up and down like a puppet. "Broken . . . how did you damage it, boy?" The hand pinning the Exorcist swapped, and Tyki reached into the human's right shoulder. "This one as well."

The Exorcist was struggling for breath, perhaps he had broken ribs from Skinn's surprisingly gentle attack, and he tried to speak. Blood trickled out of the corner of his mouth, but his whispers were unintelligible.

"I believe it was your niece, brother Tyki," he purred, letting the boy off the hook, as it were. "They were playing pretend a week ago. I actually had to summon the same Skulls that healed you to his side, but I didn't think to check the Tease." Tyki's visible eye slid in his direction, and he smiled innocently. Any reminder he could drop, he did. "But she won't confess to her worried father why she is so infatuated with Allen Walker. Do you happen to know?"

The other Noah snorted, curling his palm towards the ceiling, and the Exorcist's eyes stared dazedly as a small Tease emerged, accepting its orders before folding itself in its wings. "Does Rhode ever need a reason?"

"Oh? Are you two talking about me?" It was cheerful and bright, and enough to make Sheryl look away from the sight in front of him to wrap his daughter into a tight hug.

"We were, darling. You must tell me, whatever is so special about Allen Walker that you would destroy ten whole minutes of your uncle's hard work?"

She returned the hug twofold, hopping off her feet so he had to support all of her weight. "Skinn is grumpy, so I came to find out why."

"You didn't answer the question, dear."

She giggled in response, casting a look over her shoulder. "Ne, Tyki, don't do that here. Everyone's in the formal living room, it will make too much noise."

Tyki's expression was amused as he closed his hand around the human's windpipe, cutting off his air. "No it won't."

Rhode laughed outright, worming out of Sheryl's grasp to take the cocooned Tease out of Tyki's hand and peer at the fading human. But something about him displeased her; Sheryl saw her smile drift away. Even when the Exorcist looked directly at her, finally starting to struggle as conscious control slipped into those last few seconds of animal instinct before darkness, she didn't brighten.

"Oh," she said instead, quietly. Tyki relaxed his hold, letting the human slip to the floor, and Rhode followed him, crouching in front of the unconscious Exorcist and taking his face into her small hands. "No wonder Skinn was so grumpy."

Tyki tossed his spent cigarette out the tall arched window, ignoring a squawk. "Far be it for me to interfere, brother Sheryl, but I don't think it would be appropriate to bring him to the dinner table. I'm astonished enough you brought him here at all."

Sheryl raised his hand, adopting his lecturing voice. "All I did was move the Exorcist with me between the mansion and here. Which, let me remind you, means that technically he still hasn't been to our Ark." It was semantics, but it was the only defense he had. "I didn't choose tonight's dinner location."

"But you chose to bring him with you. Your new butler?" Tyki glanced down at the human while Rhode idly pressed the cocooned tool against the Exorcist's face, leaving red marks. "I don't believe he can stand behind your chair in this condition, whether I replace the Tease now or not."

Sheryl clasped his hands behind his back. "I wanted him to appreciate the view. It isn't often a human gets the chance to see the Earl's summer home, now is it?"

Rhode's eyes widened a little and she tossed the Tease into the air, where it hastily unwrapped its wings and caught itself. "Ooh . . . do you think he'll be well enough by dessert?"

Tyki chuckled, bending down to grab the Exorcist he'd dropped. "Distract Skinn with something pleasant so he doesn't notice?"

"Not have him sit at the table, no, but the Earl will want to talk to him." She poked the limp human hard in the chest. "Did Skinn hit him?"

"It should be fine soon enough." Sheryl gave his brother a small bow. "Would you be so kind? As he's already recovering from one injury, another shouldn't set him back too much."

Tyki's amiable features clouded a little, but at Rhode's wide-eyed pleading look, he relented. "Is downstairs far enough away that the screaming won't bother you?"

"Don't pretend you don't enjoy it," was her retort, and then Tyki floated through the floor the human and was gone.

"Rhode dear, don't tease him so. We may not see him for the rest of dinner."

"That's fine." She grabbed his hand, starting to skip down the hallway, and giggled at the small Tease trying to keep up. "We're having beef, not fish. He'll have much more fun there than with us."

-x-

It took a long time for the searing to stop. Entire breaths went by and he was incinerating his lungs, inhaling the fire because there was nothing else to breathe.

When the lurch came, he misinterpreted it. He stopped breathing because there was no need, anymore, but his body knew better. It ignored him, and snuck another gasp when he wasn't paying close attention.

And he found that the flames were just embers now, smoldering. Fed by his inhales, but even those were easier.

He forced his eyes open.

A bright, slightly yellow ceiling blinded him, and the face of Tyki Mikk was there, smirking, with a cigarette dangling carelessly from his lips. His eyes were drawn to it, but it did not burn him, and he took another breath.

"Oh, so you're awake now?"

Kanda waited a beat, but nothing else happened, so he swallowed what tasted like blood, and kept breathing. The Earl's house, or one of them. Skinn Boric. Flying. The broken ribs weren't pressing on his lungs quite so hard anymore, and the left one felt normal again-

"Ordinarily I would have left you to your own devices, but I'm afraid we need you walking and talking in an hour or so." Tyki said it casually, sitting beside him so that the mattress sank.

Mattress? How long-

Tyki smiled at his flinch, it was obvious his body had jumped, the bed was still shaking. "Ne, ne, I'm not going to hurt you. In fact," and he took a drag on the tobacco, "I'm already finished."

Kanda forced a deep breath, fighting hard to suppress the cough. Tyki had brought him here to replace the Tease, obviously. He rolled his shoulder, just slightly, but outside of an ache it felt fine. It was nothing like before, nothing like the first time he'd put them in-

"It doesn't hurt this time, does it."

He took another breath. Each one was getting easier. Either he'd been out for a while, or the Noah had put his ribs back into place. "No, master Noah."

"Ah." It sounded surprised. "Still, your body is amazing. This curse of yours." It was hard to tell from his tone what he thought about it. "Do you know why I put the Tease where I did?"

Maximum incapacitation, but he couldn't be sure. He didn't actually know how many there were, and where. "No, master Noah."

The Noah raised an eyebrow. "Perhaps I grew too accustomed to Edo after all this time, but it's strange to hear such a proper title coming out of your lips." There was nothing to say to that, so he didn't, and Tyki continued. "I put them in you r bone because bone grows more slowly, and does not reject foreign objects like muscle will." His eyes became thoughtful behind a curtain of smoke. "And do you know what yours did after Rhode destroyed them? Both the bones and the Tease?"

"No, master Noah."

"They did not reject the pieces." Tyki absently reached into his body and inspected the one he'd put in Kanda's left shoulder, he could feel the ghost touches on the surface of his bone. It felt a little like a muscle spasm. "They grew around them. They reacted to protect the rest of your body from the dark matter. There's quite a bit of thickening, actually."

The Noah removed his hand, dropping it to his lap as he studied him. All the humor in his face was gone. "I removed the shards, Exorcist, but I left those bubbles in your bones intact. I even put the new Tease in the same place. Do you know why I did that?"

It would be easy to say no, but it would be a lie. If there was thickened bone around the Tease and they exploded, they would do so with enough force to destroy it. Then, not only would fragments of the golem rip through his body, but his own skeleton would amplify the damage, doubling the amount of matter that was ejected from the site and causing even more trauma.

In essence, adding shrapnel to the grenade. ". . . yes, master Noah."

Tyki grinned at him, drawing another breath of smoke. "I was beginning to think all you could say was no."

Since the next obviously reply was no, Kanda determined it was inappropriate, and Tyki sighed and stood, glancing around the room. "Sheryl is right, though. I think you'll find the view enlightening." His lips quirked as he walked to the window, hands in his pockets. "Tell me, Exorcist, what do you make of him?"

Kanda hesitated, pushing himself slightly higher on the pillow. His chest creaked in warning, but there was no doubt the ribs were all in place. Tyki had put them back, and probably undone whatever had happened to his left lung. "I . . . don't understand, master Noah."

"Of course you do." Tyki didn't look at him again. "You're forbidden from lying, and you have to obey Noah. Tell me what you think of your master."

It was a fairly straightforward question, and Kanda's searching eyes found a delicate blown glass vase at the foot of the large bed to focus on. The rest of the room was done in pale yellows, even the sheets, but the vase contained blues, purples, reds, oranges – if he stared at it long enough, the colors seemed to swirl, just a little.

"He . . . I should not say anything that will anger him."

Mikk was in profile; even in his peripheral vision he could see the one visible eyebrow quirk. "So you have nothing nice to say, do you?"

Kanda said nothing, drawing himself up so that he was sitting straight up in the bed. It hurt like hell, but it would keep his ribs in proper alignment while they healed. If they were given a chance.

"In of itself that's not very nice. What do you think he would say if I told him of this conversation?"

Kanda dropped his eyes to the very base of the glass, so that he was staring at it through the wrought iron bars that made up the foot of the bedframe. No human had ever sat in this bed, not if this was indeed one of the Earl's homes, but there was nothing outside of that one decoration that was even slightly unique. Everything else could have been purchased in any city. Paris. London. Peking.

"Silence may be permissible to him but it is not to me. Speak, Exorcist." The Noah rolled his head on his shoulders. "Though . . . perhaps he has forbidden you from speaking of him?"

"No, master Noah."

"And has he forbidden you from speaking to me?"

". . . no, master Noah."

Tyki's visible lip turned upwards. "Ah. But he has spoken _of_ me, hasn't he. And I'm certain he could tell you any number of frightening things." It didn't seem to be a direct question so Kanda didn't take it as one, and they remained in silence for a while, Tyki by the window, Kanda still sitting straight in the bed.

Tyki let the smoke curl around his hand. "I imagine the subject of Rhode brought me to his mind . . ?"

"Yes, master Noah." He couldn't get any volume behind it.

And that was enough to pique the Noah's curiosity. Tyki turned to face him, crushing out the spent cigarette on the stone windowsill. His eyes were oddly intent. "Then tell me about that."

The lip of the vase rather reminded him of the high, thin clouds he used to watch on the roof of the Tower in the early spring mornings, and the memory was pleasant. Almost pleasant enough to help. He knew what would happen if he showed any more hesitance, but at the same time he was dreading where the conversation was leading. "He spoke of you, last week."

Tyki tilted his head to the side, as if trying to figure out how that answered his question. "Last week . . . when the Tease were destroyed."

"Yes, master Noah."

The Noah pursed his lips thoughtfully. "After Rhode was finished with you," he deduced. "She was quite hard on you, wasn't she. If she was dreaming of Allen Walker . . ." He let it trail off, then hmmed. "And what did he say of me, I wonder?"

Kanda could not find the words. "He . . . he desires you, master Noah."

Tyki threw back his head and laughed. "Yes, he reminds me daily." It was droll. "Do not let him fool you, boy. Haven't you determined what it is that he does? What he is?"

When Kanda did not reply, the Noah tsked in disappointment. "I would call him the Noah of Envy, if such existed. What he wants is . . ." But then the Noah trailed off, and his golden gaze sharpened. "Did he say anything derogatory of Rhode?"

Kanda almost released a sigh of relief. Almost. "He did not, master Noah."

Appearing slightly mollified, Tyki put his hands back in his pockets, and gave him a long look. "He did not always appear as my spitting image, but he resents that my face can open doors his words cannot. He oft speaks of my countenance, Exorcist, quite blatantly. Were his words to you more of the same?"

Kanda could no longer find distraction in the vase. "In part."

He heard the Noah shift. "But there is more?" Then Tyki laughed, humorlessly. "Was that when he had you?"

He did his best not to react at all. It was his unease the Noah was enjoying, not the subject. And the cost of lying outweighed the relief he would find at ending this conversation. ". . . yes, master Noah."

". . . and Rhode put the idea into his head." The Noah didn't sound remotely offended, which was surprising enough to make Kanda look up. "I would wager that more than half the world's population thinks of someone other than their lover while doing the deed. And I know the idea isn't alien to you, boy," he added. "I lived in your homeland for quite some time. All your people seem to do is fish and fuck."

The coarse language shocked him, though he wasn't certain why, and the Noah gave him an odd smile. "Still though, I wonder. He had you at his mercy for weeks, what would have given him a reason . . ." The Noah's eyes seemed to be slightly lighter in color, closer to the walls and ceiling, and his voice became silky. "Well then, what happened, boy?"

Kanda had already seen the transformation from near-human to mostly-Noah, and chose this time not to study it. His voice was almost inaudible. "Please do not make me tell you, master Noah."

"Was it so awful you would prefer to beg than retell it?" The Noah came closer, his footsteps like a swinging pendulum.

Kanda did not respond.

The Noah snorted, lightly. "Then perhaps you can show me."

He stared at the foot of the bed in shock, but Tyki said nothing else, clearly waiting. Waiting for him to disobey. "I-I would have to touch you, master Noah-"

A low chuckle. "Do you not remember what _I_ am, Exorcist? I assure you, if I find it unpleasant I will stop allowing it." It was nearly a purr.

Kanda cast around for another excuse, even a weak one, but there was none, and Tyki's long strides carried him to stand beside the bed. He jingled some keys in his pocket. "Come now, or I will have to tell him that you've disobeyed me. If he is as fond of me as all that, I doubt your begging will do any more good with him."

A moment passed. Then another. Woodenly, Kanda got to his feet, favoring his ribs only as much as necessary. He expected to be struck, to have the Noah laugh in his face and toss him aside in disgust, but Tyki merely stood there, hands still in his pockets. Watching him with eyes too bright and too lightly shaded to be human.

His discomfort was pleasing the Noah very much.

The vase was no longer in his field of vision, so Kanda focused on the stitching of Tyki's shirt. Very fine, even stitching, the cotton was crisp and probably the very first time it had ever been worn. He reached up with both hands before folding his fingers to his palms to stop their shaking. As close as they were, the Noah's faint 'hnn' seemed loud.

And delighted. "Was he so shy when he touched you, boy?"

Kanda took a slightly deeper breath, stifling the urge to cough, and ran one of his fingers lightly down the front of the Noah's shirt.

"And so silent? It's not like him to waste a perfectly good opportunity to condescend."

It wasn't until he came upon one of the buttons that he realized it might well have been the same as he had been wearing when he'd woken. Tyki's had the first two buttons undone, and he toyed with the third, alarmed at how easily the words came back to mind.

Sheryl had not been silent.

"You always . . . looked better without it, you know."

Tyki snorted. "An actor you are not." But he made no other protest and gave no other order, and Kanda worked through the buttons one at a time. The Noah felt hot beneath his hand, his fingers must have been freezing but Tyki did not comment, and all too soon there were no more buttons, and the Noah's slate-grey skin peeked out between walls of bright white cotton.

The next thing Sheryl had said to him was not particularly applicable. "But you want to hide the marks, don't you." This time he was able to get it out steadily, if utterly without inflection, and he brushed aside the cotton as had been done to him. There he had his first surprise; Tyki _was_ marked. Hard, shining, almost wine-colored scar tissue marred the width of his chest in a wide stripe, and Kanda pushed the left side of the shirt away more out of curiosity than to mimic what had been done to him.

Over the Noah's heart was more, a cross burned into flesh and muscle and not regenerated.

Tyki said nothing at all, simply watching him, and Kanda hesitated again.

"That . . . looks as if it hurts," he faltered, repeating the words verbatim. At the time he hadn't been sure if Sheryl had been talking to him or lost in his own thoughts, but now . . . Haltingly, he stepped closer to the Noah. Close enough to smell cologne that almost forcibly brought him back to that roof in Edo, when the hands still in the Noah's pockets had been wrapped around Lenalee.

". . . would you like me to do something for that?"

Tyki said nothing, and Kanda licked lips that had suddenly gone dry. Still, he leaned forward, planting an awkward kiss on the large scar over the Noah's heart. The faintest tremor seemed to run through the Noah's frame, but he didn't touch him, didn't say a word, and there was nothing to do but continue.

He wasn't quite sure what Sheryl had done then, he had been too stunned to watch or feel, but it had certainly involved his tongue and his teeth. Also, he had been lying on a bed, and the Noah's hands had been at his hips. He dropped them slowly, skimming the surface of Tyki's clothes until he found something trouser-like, but when he moved them closer, intent on gluing them to the Noah's waist, he found that Tyki's hands were still in his pockets, still in the way.

Kanda only brushed the Noah's forearms before realizing his mistake, but before he could withdraw his hands were caught, Tyki had moved through the fabric as if the pockets weren't there. He grasped Kanda not as an enemy; he cupped his hands in his own before pressing them firmly to his hips. "Imitation is the highest form of flattery," the Noah said, very softly. "He would be angry if you did not do a good job."

He did not trust his voice, inclining his head to show that he understood, and his forehead bumped Tyki's chin slightly as he did so. Closing his eyes and silently cursing himself for being so obviously unsettled, Kanda hesitantly bent his neck and pressed his lips to the Noah's skin once again.

There was no point in being timid; even if he wasn't sure how to properly imitate this particular gesture he knew what would come next, so he tentatively sucked at the discolored flesh, pressing the tip of his tongue firmly against the Noah before closing his lips around the patch of skin. Tyki tensed at the contact but was still there, tangible, so it hadn't hurt. Getting it right or at least close didn't make Kanda feel any better, but he continued what he was doing across the unmarred flesh of the Noah's chest, where his own tattoo had been the center of Sheryl's attention.

"Such a fragile thing, aren't you." He hadn't really understood the words before, hadn't understood that not a single one had been for him, but despite comprehension his voice sounded hollow to his ears. "So beautiful, and nothing else."

A low chuckle was his reward, and Kanda bit his lip before bowing his head a little, reluctantly dragging his tongue up the Noah's sternum. This, too, caused Tyki to make a noise, and Kanda pretended not to notice, following the pronounced collarbone to the Noah's throat.

And he could feel it, supple, mostly tasteless flesh beneath his tongue, beneath his hands, against his body. The Noah was fully vulnerable, as much as one could be. He could strike Tyki now as easily as any human. And he did, drawing the Noah closer by way of his hips and sinking his teeth into the place where he could feel the Noah's pulse. Not hard enough to draw blood, but firmly.

The Noah didn't vanish. Tyki's breathing caught but he stayed exactly where he was, and Kanda closed his lips around his teeth and sucked.

Sheryl had been doing other things at that time, things that were seemingly much more difficult to do while standing, but Kanda did his best, pressing himself into the Noah, hating the fact that Tyki made him tighten his grip to hold him in place. It didn't help; more friction did nothing for this particular shortcoming, and he bowed his head and tried to catch his breath, which for some reason was hard to do.

"My apologies, master Noah, I . . . cannot continue. . ."

A deep hum was the Noah's response. "I take it you're lacking the required interest?"

There was an odd lilt to the end of the phrase that chilled Kanda's stomach. "Yes."

"Would you like me to help you with that?" He flinched when Tyki's hand penetrated his abdomen, feeling it ghosting its way through him.

"No, master Noah." It was an answer to his question rather than a command; he tempered it just in case it wouldn't be clear, and Tyki's hand stilled. Kanda wasn't quite sure where it was and he didn't look.

Tyki chuckled and did not step away. "You don't find me desirable, Exorcist?"

"No, master Noah."

"I do believe I'm hurt," the Noah pouted, and then was silent for such a long time that Kanda wondered if he would be allowed to pull away. Tyki still had a hand somewhere in his gut, after all. When the Noah finally spoke, suddenly, Kanda flinched.

"Did he say anything else of note?"

Kanda's eyes closed themselves. "Yes, master Noah."

There was a pregnant silence, and Kanda forced his eyes open, staring at the scars on Tyki's chest. "Master said, 'when he asks, be sure to do everything exactly as I have done'."

The words had been almost meaningless to him at the time, like everything else the Noah had said to him. But Sheryl had predicted this moment even then. That Tyki would ask. He hadn't just predicted it, even. He'd known.

Tyki Mikk laughed, long and low, and withdrew his hand from Kanda's body. His relief was shortlived, however, when the Noah plucked one of Kanda's hands off his hip and pressed it firmly to his groin.

"Be sure to let my brother know of my interest in his proposition."

There was cloth in the way, but not enough to hide Tyki's meaning, and Kanda was genuinely surprised to find that the Noah was not even slightly aroused. He glanced up in shock to see Tyki watching him with eyes that were almost a tawny brown.

Almost human.

"Oh, don't be insulted, Exorcist," he murmured. "Your performance was abysmal, it's true, but you're not unattractive. . ." Tyki's other hand was suddenly beneath his chin, tilting it upwards so that he was fully facing the Noah.

"It's truly a shame." He stroked Kanda's jaw with a thumb. "Normally when Sheryl takes someone apart, he reassembles them into something useful. But with you all he wants are the shards." Kanda stared at him, having nowhere else to look, and Tyki gave him a regretful smile. "As you were in Edo, you would have been quite the prize, but now . . . let's be frank, this world crawls with the broken and unwilling. Even as pretty of face as you are, I can find better-fed cattle."

It was a long moment before Tyki let him go, stepping away, and the room felt suddenly cold. "You seem steady enough on your feet, Exorcist." It was a bit more businesslike, and the Noah began to unhurriedly button his shirt. "Perhaps we should repair to the dining room for a bit of dessert. Something to sweeten that taste in your mouth?"

Kanda said nothing, for there was nothing to say, and Tyki chuckled as he tucked in his shirt. "Your silence is almost as strange as your lack of honorifics. It's been a long time since I've been called Noah-sama."

"My apologies, Noah-sama."

Tyki chuckled but didn't comment, opening the yellow door and stepping out into the hallway. It didn't look any different than any number of mansions Tiedoll had dragged him through, wood-paneled walls and cherry molding and fine furniture without a speck of dust. They climbed a magnificent marble stairway, where the giant picture window was obscured by the lightest gauze curtain. Something was moving behind it, but Kanda couldn't make out what, and Tyki tsked.

"Now, now, the view is much better from the dining room balcony. I wouldn't want to spoil it for you."

Kanda averted his eyes. "Yes, Noah-sama."

Clearly he was still amused by the switch to Japanese honorifics, and he was smiling broadly by the time they crossed the threshold into what was obviously a dining room.

And even though he knew it was one of the Earl's summer homes, and that the Noah had been gathered for a dinner, it was still a shock to see him sitting there, crystal eyes sparkling over his spectacles as he glanced at the new arrivals.

"Ah!" he exclaimed, clapping his hands together. A small plate was set before him, with the remnants of some pastry clinging to the center. "Tyki-pet! You have missed much of the conversation."

"Rhode will catch me up," he said offhandedly, and then he was heading to his chair, and Kanda realized quite suddenly that he was standing alone in the doorway.

"I see you brought your Exorcist, Sheryl." It was as doting as the Earl always sounded, even when he'd attacked him directly. "Come in, come in. Don't be shy."

It was easier than he'd thought. One step after another, and then he was no further from the Earl than the Akuma attending him. It was no harder than usual to drop to one knee, to stare at the luxurious pile carpeting.

But it was very hard to wait out the silence, to do nothing with so many Noah staring.

And the Earl made him wait a long time. "You move well for someone who upset my Skinn Boric, Exorcist."

Kanda wasn't sure if that was good or bad.

It was bad.

"He has been moody the entire meal. Why don't you apologize to him?" The light, friendly tone was almost undetectable through the blanket of malevolence that came with the words, and Kanda stood quickly, locating the large Noah more by the sound of spoon on silver than by his size. A boat of ice cream was in front of him, some of it trickling unnoticed from the corner of his mouth. He did not stop eating, not even when Kanda approached him, then bowed at the waist.

"Many apologies, master Noah."

He expected catcalls, taunting, comments and laughter. But there were none. Nor did the scarfing in front of him halt; eventually the large Noah grunted, and the spell was broken.

"Did he just forgive him, hee?!"

"Don't be stupid, he doesn't forgive anyone."

"Bringing a well-behaved Exorcist to the table is no better than a well-behaved swine." The woman's voice was arch. "Whatever possessed you, Sheryl?"

There was the sound of fabric, then the scuffing of a chair on the carpet. "At least he doesn't lick his hands at the table, Lulu dear. There is something I need him to see."

Kanda listened to the footsteps circle the table, then the Earl answered an unasked question. "Yes, yes, by all means."

"Come, boy."

Kanda straightened and obeyed, finding Sheryl at the end of the table. Now that he was free to look, he saw many of the Noah were in attendance; Rhode was giving him a coy smile, elbows on the table and twirling one of her hair ribbons, Jasdero and Debito were poking each other through their armrests, Skinn was ignoring him utterly, and Tyki had busied himself with a pear tart. There was a dark-skinned man there that he had never seen, watching him with unblinking eyes, and Lulubell sat beside him, glaring at Kanda openly.

He took it all in at a glance, moving evenly but quickly to Sheryl's side, and he received a pleased smile as reward. "The view at sunset is truly breathtaking. I wanted you to be the first to see it."

The dining room was only three-walled; the fourth was nothing but sets of French doors the length of the room, with a wide balcony and the same gauzy curtains. Sheryl gestured for him to approach, so he did so, silently on the carpet, and the Noah brushed back one of the curtains with a flourish. And for a moment, Kanda didn't realize what it was he was looking at.

Until one of them moved.

"I know you were there, in Edo, when the Earl had summoned the Akuma born of Japan," Sheryl admitted. "But I simply can't believe it compares to the Akuma of Europe."

Kanda simply stared, trying to find any landmark with which to gain relative perspective. There was none visible.

"There is one of these for every continent." Sheryl was warming to his lecture. "And this is, of course, not all inclusive. The ones and twos are still out and about, leveling up and giving you Exorcists something to keep you occupied."

Half of Jasdevi started screeching, but Kanda didn't pay any attention.

"You do know how many continents there are, don't you?"

Kanda had to work to form an answer. "Yes, master."

"Well, then you know more geography than Rhode." It was Tyki, the next closest Noah.

"Ty-_ki_! That was mean!"

"Perhaps next time you'll do your own homework."

Sheryl turned to defend his daughter, and Kanda looked once more over the western horizon before woodenly following him back towards the table.

"-uncle may just be a bit hungry. You did deprive him of dinner, after all."

Tyki had polished off the tart and was sipping coffee. "It's fine." His voice was utterly uncaring.

"And the Exorcist," the Earl noted. "Perhaps he is hungry as well?"

Again, there was silence, silence Kanda didn't understand. The Noah were all tense, what did they have to fear? "Many thanks . . ." But what would Sheryl have him call the Earl? ". . . Earl-sama. But I am not hungry."

"Well, then perhaps you will join us for conversation?"

No one moved, though the twins were whispering to one another, Lulubell was looking more incensed by the second, and Skinn was still working on the ice cream.

Kanda simply bowed, and waited.

"You know that Sheryl has laid a trap for Froi Tiedoll, don't you?"

"Yes, Earl-sama."

"And do you know the particulars?"

Kanda kept his eyes on the carpet. "Yes, Earl-sama."

"Ah, good, good." The Earl sounded quite pleased. "And tell me, Exorcist, is it sufficient?"

"Yes, Earl-sama."

There was hardly a pause. "And what do you think of my Akuma, now that you have seen them?"

That was much harder to answer, and Kanda struggled with a response. "I . . ."

"Do you still believe that your side has found enough Innocence to be of any use?"

Against that . . . Kanda took a slow breath. ". . . yes, Earl-sama."

The Noah erupted into noise at that, and the Earl let them rant for a time before he apparently silenced them with a gesture. Kanda didn't dare look up.

"So you have identified the Heart?"

"No, Earl-sama."

"But you still believe the Exorcists will."

" . . . yes, Earl-sama."

The Earl began to chuckle, and soon the chuckle was a full-blown laugh. He laughed so hard he had to blow his nose. But the Noah did not join him. He didn't look at their expressions, he simply stared at the floor.

"I see, I see. Well, this has been quite pleasant, don't you agree? Please, Sheryl, sit down. There is another item of business we must discuss, now that Tyki-pon is here."

"I have asked you not to call me that, Earl."

-x-

Sheryl swept into the study, tossing his scarf on the sofa. Nearly silent footfalls told him his project was still right behind him, and he waited until Theodore had closed the study doors before he rounded on him.

"Of all the times you choose to disobey me, you do so in front of the Earl?" It took everything in him not to strike the human down where he knelt. He didn't look up, didn't resist or deny in the slightest, and Sheryl bared his teeth, aching for something to smash.

"There are so few rules, yet you disobey. I cannot help but believe it was on purpose." He gestured sharply at the bookcase, too angry to be pleased as the Exorcist's flinch. "The punishment for lying was clear. Go."

To his credit, the human didn't hesitate. He rose stiffly, crossing the study to stand before a redwood box, on the shelf beside the Shakespeare. His hands were even steady as he reached out to take it.

So he knew. He had lied with purpose, knowing exactly what waited for him.

What galled Sheryl the most was the fact that he still wasn't completely sure when the human had lied. Which was the lie, and which was the truth. And there was no way he could admit that, no way to get it out of the human without giving away his own ignorance.

Sheryl turned his back on the Exorcist, storming to his desk and yanking the new reports up so quickly one of the pages was torn. "Perhaps that will burn the lies out of your heart," he snarled. He couldn't help himself. "I could not be more disappointed with you."

The reply was soft. "My apologies, master."

He tossed the papers aside, rounding on the human, who was now kneeling in front of him, offering the box. It made his lips curl.

"Oh, no, boy. You mistake me." The human froze, box still offered, and Sheryl glared. "This punishment is not given by my hand. If you regret, you correct."

There it was. The faintest tremor.

"Open it."

The human did as he was told, laying it gently on the floor before hesitantly lifting the lid. Three indentations lay in the blue velvet, but only two of the glass cylinders were there.

"Apologize."

More pronounced trembling, now that the routine was being observed once again. ". . . I am sorry, master."

"Show me."

It took him a moment to steel his nerves, but then the Exorcist reached into the box and took up one of the syringes. He stared at it a moment, perhaps debating whether or not he could use it as a weapon.

"I-"

"_Show me how sorry you are." _It was nearly impossible for him to keep his hands off the boy, and Sheryl folded them across his chest, almost pinning them to himself.

The human hesitated again, then slowly turned the glass and metal, so that the needle was facing him. There was an unbearable pause where Sheryl thought perhaps he would not be able to restrain himself, but then the needle disappeared into the human's chest, just over his heart, and a shaking thumb depressed the plunger, sending the contents into his body.

It never took long, in seconds the human was writhing on the floor, and Sheryl listened to each and every scream, staring pitilessly at him until his convulsions weakened, until he no longer moved. His hands were claws, frozen to a chest he had partially ripped open in his agony, and if he was anyone else, he would have been put in the ground that way.

But he was not. He was the ongoing project of Sheryl Camelot, and with a glow that was visible through his torn shirt and vest, one of his hands twitched.

Little of the tattoo was visible through the shredded fabric, but Sheryl didn't bother to take the shirt. The curse was undecipherable, if the Skulls had not managed it by now. He didn't really need to know how much longer before it consumed the human; the point was that the Exorcist knew. And if he felt wasting some of his precious life was worth the lie he had told, well then, it was really the only choice he had left, and Sheryl was content to leave it with him.

-x-

**Author's Notes**: So, you can see why this became its own chapter. Length. Width. Height. Content. Call it what you will. The next chapter will pick up where the last one left off. Thanks to all of you who responded, I feel much more confident about this story! (Of course, it's turning into another Perfect After All, which I already knew I could write, so I guess the point is moot. =) I guess I should get in the bunker now, shouldn't I . . .


	7. Trap

Disclaimer in previous chapters. Please see Author's Notes at the end.

-x-

**Present**

"I hate this trait about you."

It brought back so much.

Maker of Eden responded beautifully – it always did – and he and Marie were enveloped in clean-smelling white before displaced air could even ruffle their hair. He had no illusions that anything as harmless as stuffed rabbits or buckets were hitting them, but even as he felt the impacts, recognizing them for what they were, he couldn't help a sad smile.

Even if they all lived through this, Kanda would probably never tell him whether that statement was meant as a warning or not.

Froi Tiedoll waited patiently for the first barrage to halt, for the Akuma to let the dust clear and see if their attack was successful or not. He didn't blame Marie; the Noah stepping out of the room was warning enough. He had indicated that there was something he could hear in the walls, it was likely the Noah knew and was prepared for his excellent hearing.

Knew their names, as well, and a good deal about the hierarchy in the Order. Curious, considering Tiedoll could not ever recall hearing that particular voice before.

"Master!"

He hadn't had time to form a complete Art, and if the ceiling was still intact when all was said and done – something he doubted – he wouldn't. Two separate hands held them, but Marie's voice sounded as though it was just beside him.

"Let's see what we're up against, hmm?"

"I did not hear them, master. I am sorry."

Tiedoll made a dismissive noise, well aware that their conversation could not be heard. "What of Kanda-kun?"

A particularly concentrated blast hit Maker of Eden, and Tiedoll frowned. They were level threes, but that last . . . perhaps the Noah?

"I hear him."

"Do not lose him. If he leaves the immediate battlefield, follow him."

"Master-"

"And do not engage the Noah unless you have to." Without knowing who he was, they didn't know what they were dealing with. Besides someone who didn't care to be seen, or to give his name. Possibly a Noah unknown to the Order?

A Noah who held sway over his pupil.

The attacks predictably halted, and he asked Maker of Eden to relax. The white fingers peeled apart, showing him nothing but smoke, and Tiedoll covered his face with his traveling cloak, stepping to the left of his current position. No sense in standing where they expected him to be, and the full moon meant that neither he nor Marie would be hidden for long.

He headed for the wall that had been along the rest of the house, figuring it would be the only one still standing, and the shadows would afford him some small amount of time. He was correct; the smoke and explosions had extinguished the great fire that had been burning in the stone fireplace, but the mantle had been high, the fireplace was large enough to walk into and so he did, and just in time. Not three feet away metal landed on debris with a harsh, heavy clank.

"Do you see them?"

"Not a piece!"

Marie would have done the same to the right, which put Kanda and the doorway the Noah had disappeared through at the top of their triangle. The smoke continued to clear, with a bit of starlight cutting through, and he counted the visible Akuma – all level three, and none combined and easily destroyed with Art – before preparing the chisel.

Perhaps a smaller version was in order. It would be a good testing ground. But not yet. For now, it was better to be visible. Give all the enemies something to concentrate on besides Marie. "Be gentle, _Art_."

He made only one of them, lifting the chisel to find that the nearest level three was unfazed, its razor-thin fingers extended for his chest.

"I have him, master Noa-"

"_Flourish_."

It was a technique he could only use those rare instances an Akuma was stupid enough to come so close, and he could strike it directly with Maker of Eden. As with all Innocence, Maker of Eden was toxic, and the Akuma exploded on impact. He did not pay it a single second's more attention, looking towards the head of the ruined dining hall, now that Art was shining down as brilliantly as a star.

Kanda was still there. A brown oilskin coat was wrapped around him, billowing in the wake of explosions, and the ribbon that adorned his collar fluttered, a colorful red against the night. He might as well have been any Englishman in his white shirt and vest, his booted feet shoulder-width apart. Most shocking of all was his hair.

It was gone, a scant inch long all around.

He no longer looked like himself. When he saw his reflection, he saw only what had become of him, not who he was.

"You will find I am not so accommodating as the Earl, Froi Tiedoll." The voice came from everywhere and nowhere, the Noah was using the floating Akuma to broadcast. "Your team would have been easily routed in Edo if we had been serious."

Tiedoll smiled at the darkness. "How chilling."

The Noah laughed appreciatively. "You have been described to me as an emotional fool and the most dangerous general the Order has to offer. Show me which of those descriptions is more apt."

Across the ruined hall, Marie grunted, and an Akuma shattered high in the sky, lighting up the brilliant, untarnished metal of the second wave of Akuma. He knew full well they would not be combined into something Art could easily defeat, already the few advanced level threes dancing around were more than enough for his Innocence, which was rather slow in that large form.

Neither he nor Maker of Eden wanted to change that impression. As that second wave targeted him, pink pentacles glowing on their foreheads, Tiedoll simply bowed his head.

The explosions were sudden and sharp, and his curls blew into his eyes as the shock wave reached him.

For a moment, there was perfect silence. The last pieces of Akuma fell to the shattered wood floors, and in the light that had been created, Tiedoll was able to get his first real lay of the land. The hall was totally destroyed. His fireplace was standing only because it was stone; the table was simply gone, as was the ceiling and long wall that used to be across from him. The end of the hall that led to the house was still standing, but just, and the opposite short wall was no more, showing him the stone stairs he and Marie had climbed to the front door.

The dining room had been a large rectangle on the front of the mansion, and the rest was in surprisingly good shape.

Tiedoll stepped out of the fireplace, admiring the glowing trees that had sprung up, each one sprouted where a piece of the Akuma he had destroyed had landed. Those pieces had become seeds for the Garden of Eden, and it was the only offensive form of the otherwise defensive technique.

It was also a technique Kanda had never seen. Which meant it was a technique the Noah had not, either. The fifty or so level threes were no more than puffs of poison gas, and the branches of his Innocence retreated, sinking back into the ground.

"Kanda."

The voice was Marie's; he did not so much as glance in their direction. If worst came to worst, Marie could disarm and bodily remove Kanda from the area. He needed to be a bigger target.

"If that was all, we'll be on our way."

"I'm afraid not."

The voice was right behind him. In the fireplace.

Tiedoll did nothing at all. Trying to respond would only hasten the attack; the voice was both childlike and Akuma, and he had heard one like it before. The Akuma had probably floated down the chimney, or perhaps it had been there all along, and he could not hope to defend in time. His best bet was to remain perfectly still.

"Oh?" He made it sound uncaring.

"You see," the same kind of voice called, from somewhere above him, "we haven't gotten a turn to play."

"And master Noah said we could," came a third.

Art could not react in time, either.

-x-

"_They made sure we was all right, then ran off in that direction." The engineer gestured at the trees. "Like they were looking fer someone."_

Like they were looking for someone.

The trees were far too thick for Lavi to use Ozuchi Kozuchi, they would have been above the canopy and despite the lack of leaves and a bright moon, they couldn't have followed the tracks at that height. This was an old forest, dense and unhappy with their intrusion, and Allen hurried along what amounted to a deer path, following deep footprints in the snow.

If not for the snow, he would have quickly gotten lost. Looking up, there were dark fingers over the moon, and no other landmarks. Behind him crunched Chaoji Han, and somewhere to his left – he hoped – Bookman and Lavi were doing the same. Following the second set of footprints.

Noise Marie and General Tiedoll. He hoped.

There was no third set of footprints.

The first time he heard it, he thought it was a large amount of snow falling, dislodged by the cold air. When his eye whined to life he realized his mistake and pushed forward harder, feet hardly skimming the ground, and Chaoji grunted with the effort of keeping up, getting hit with branches and snow, too big to travel so easily through such dense forest.

Luckily for him, he was a bean sprout. Moyashi.

If Kanda called him that again, he wouldn't get mad. He'd let it go ten times before he corrected him.

He and Chaoji burst through shrubs and smaller trees, and finally into a clearing, in time to see bright white shafts of light erupt from what looked like one of the largest estate homes Allen had ever seen. It was easily half as large as the Tower had been, but not as high and more sprawling, and there was damage to the front of it. A great forest, much like the one they had just left, was rising up in the front part of the house, spotted with explosions.

The branches of the trees were rising like spears, impaling a cloud of Akuma.

" . . . Garden of Eden . . ." It was Chaoji, and it was awed.

Allen tore his eyes away as Lavi and Bookman exited the woods, only perhaps thirty yards to Allen's left. Lavi gasped a deep breath.

"Whoa!"

The trap had already been sprung.

Bookman didn't seem as enthralled as the rest of them; perhaps he had seen Garden of Eden more than once before, or perhaps his eyes were sharp enough to see what Allen's already had. A cloud of level threes, fifty or more, but they were no match for a general.

And a Noah would know that.

"What do you see, Allen Walker?"

Despite the explosions, his eye was not relaxing, and Allen scanned the immediate area. There was one apparently inside or behind the house, he could not see the soul at this distance but he knew it was there. Another was high in the sky but coming down fast, and several were in the woods opposite them. One broke off from that group and began streaking along the ground, turning lazy somersaults as it did so.

It was that one Allen could see. And even if he couldn't have, its behavior gave it away.

A level four.

Allen grabbed his left arm without thinking, withdrawing the sword. "There are five Akuma that I can see. At least one is level four." All of them were converging on the place where Garden of Eden was beginning to wither and disappear.

"At least one?" It was the measured voice of a tactician, and Allen didn't have time for it. A general could handle a Noah, after all, and level fours, no matter how powerful, were weaker than Noah. One would be a challenge, but not an unwinnable fight.

If more than one of those Akuma was level four-

"Master . . . and Marie . . ." Chaoji started forward immediately, not willing to wait for the rest of them. Allen was only a step behind him.

"-oi! Wait!"

Neither stopped, and both were completely unprepared when Ozuchi Kozuchi went flying between them. The hammer's head rotated forty-five degrees.

"Shrink!"

It caught them both in the stomach, wrenching them back, and Lavi tossed them unceremoniously into a snow bank.

"Lavi-!"

"You can't just go charging in like that! How-"

"Silence!" Bookman's tone belonged in a noisy elementary school classroom, and they all responded instantly to its authority. The older Exorcist was looking back the way they had come. "Something approaches."

They all froze, straining to hear, and a hunk of snow slipped down the back of Allen's collar. The snowbank muffled sound, and his eye indicated nothing. But soon the crunch of snow reached his ears, then rasping breath. Whatever it was, it wasn't a deer.

Allen pulled himself out of the snowbank, offering Chaoji a hand, and Lavi casually hefted the hammer. Bookman said nothing more to them, tucking his hands into his sleeves as the thing came closer. A twig snapped, and the breathing became harsher, louder-

Nearly exactly where he and Chaoji had emerged from the forest, a dark shape lurched out of the trees.

It was not an Akuma. There was no soul attached, trapped and weeping. It was person-shaped, though, wearing the uniform of the Order, and when it picked up its head, as if just suddenly aware of them, Allen almost dropped the sword.

Lavi merely cocked his head to the side. "Inspector Link?" As the figure bent and grabbed its knees, gasping for breath, Lavi rubbed the back of his neck. "Geez, Allen, you didn't tell us you brought him with you-"

"I didn't." It was perfectly measured, and Allen began to advance on the shape, who seemed barely able to keep his feet.

"Mister . . Walker-"

"You didn't?"

"No." Allen stopped only an arm's length from the struggling figure, studying him from every angle. He looked exactly . . . perfect. He was wearing the same clothes, the same slightly too long shoelaces, the same straight-cut bangs and the same angry eyes. He was pale, his lips were the same color as his face and the red dots on his forehead were more prominent than ever. Despite the freezing cold, there was sweat on his upper lip, and he swallowed his next breath, fighting to speak.

"Under . . . arrest-"

Chaoji was either the fastest or the slowest to catch on; if Bookman and Lavi made the leap, they didn't say anything. "So if you didn't bring him . . . then who is this?"

Without a word Allen ran the hunched figure through with his Innocence.

Someone yowled, but it wasn't the person masquerading as the inspector. "Allen . . . the last time you . . . to a Noah . . ." Chaoji took a step back as the impaled figure stumbled. "Was that really a good idea?!"

It was a calculated risk. It hadn't been enough last time to banish the Noah from the human Tyki Mikk, just as it hadn't been enough, on its own, to destroy a level four. But in this case, it ought to have been enough to disrupt whatever power a Noah might be using to fool them or mask its appearance.

But there was no glowing crucifix on the Howard Link-shaped body, there was no glow at all. The figure grabbed the sword by the hilt – and his hand – and looked up at him.

"Mister Walker," it tried again, with a bit more authority, "this is . . . second time you've . . . needlessly used your Innocence . . ."

Even if the Noah that had orchestrated all this was posing as Link, how could they know that? Allen left his Innocence where it was, staring at him in shock. There was just no way he could have traveled from Switzerland to Yugoslavia in two hours. It was simply impossible without using the Ark.

Could he use the Ark by himself . . .? "Link . . .? How-"

"You came from Switzerland, right?" Lavi sounded thoughtful. "How long ago was that?"

The inspector straightened, still trying to catch his breath, and with his Innocence buried harmlessly in Link's body Allen could feel violent shivering vibrating the hilt. The inspector had brought his coat, and while it was cold, it was above zero. His tremors were from exertion, not temperature.

"A couple hours," Allen heard himself reply automatically, letting his Innocence fall. "How did you get here?"

Despite his obvious exhaustion, the inspector managed to look haughty. "That's classified, Mr. Walker. In the meantime . . ." He trailed off as there was a massive explosion behind them, and Allen turned in time to see one of the giant forms of Tiedoll's Innocence topple. There was a secondary explosion, and then all light from the ruined section of the mansion was extinguished.

His eye saw three Akuma in that immediate area.

How Link had gotten there in such a short time really didn't matter, so long as he didn't become just another casualty. "Stay back," Allen called instead, starting across the lawn in a dead run.

"Walker! Wait-"

This time he ignored them.

-x-

But Allen wasn't listening. With a crack Crown Clown had propelled him off, and in a moment he was a nearly invisible speck against the snow.

"Lavi-"

It was far too late. Besides, the cowl being bright white was lucky, it would allow Allen to move almost undetectably and possibly get the drop on the Akuma. It would be wiser to give him a head start, and move only when he'd given himself away. Ozuchi Kozuchi was black and a hell of a big target, he might be better off trying to use a long-distance attack from here when Allen made his move-

But Chaoji didn't want to be left behind, and took off right after him. He could try hooking the other Exorcist back, but with that strength he was risking giving Chaoji the opportunity to throw _him._ That trick wouldn't work twice.

"Dammit!" He squinted, trying to make out anything happening near the mansion, and while it was a good quarter mile, it wasn't so far that his eye couldn't pick out the level four Allen had been talking about-

. . .or the one next to it. Both of them were floating over the ruins, and then there was an impossible spray of bullets.

Two level twos.

Suddenly the odds weren't in their favor anymore.

"Gigi-"

"I see them." The old man was making no move to enter the fray, however, and Lavi gave him an impatient huff when he turned unhurriedly to the staring Howard Link.

"I have never heard of anyone able to sustain Achenes Dispersion for such a great distance."

Achenes Dispersion . . . a technique that allowed a mage to travel great distances by floating, like the seeds of a dandelion. A spell. Lavi felt his eye widen slightly, but Link did not deny the technique. Instead, he looked intently after Allen Walker.

"We must stop him." It was the usual rhetoric, but the voice was weary, with an undercurrent of something else Lavi hadn't heard before. "There is a barrier on these grounds."

Barrier . . ? "What kind of barrier?"

The inspector extended his right sleeve. Multiple runes and arrays slid out on thick cardstock, and the inspector knelt on the snow, arranging them swiftly. "I do not know yet, but I would imagine it has something to do with Allen Walker's ability to use the Ark."

It clicked in Lavi's mind. If Allen realized the odds were too bad, he'd try to collect Tiedoll and his team – assuming Kanda was actually there – and use the Ark to escape. Perhaps that was the point all along, considering Kanda had been taken while on a mission with Walker. To prevent him from using it – or to force the Gate to remain open, and try to take the Ark back from the Order.

"What will happen if he tries to create a Gate?"

Link shook his head, muttering in a dead language before answering. "I don't know. But the risk of losing the Ark is too great, even for a general. Walker must not be allowed to use the Ark here."

"There are two level fours out there-" He gestured, and at a glance he saw his mistake.

There were three.

Beside him, the panda drew in a quick breath, and there was a blinding flash of light from the mansion, followed by an earthshaking tremor. "And doubtless the Noah that arranged this meeting," Bookman murmured soberly. "We cannot overcome these odds with strength."

" . . . and this barrier cuts off our retreat." Lavi swore. "So it's stay and fight-"

"You'll be killed." Link was never one to mince words, and he took a deep breath, rather reminiscent of Kanda before meditation. Then he brought up his hands to begin weaving a spell from the runes laid out in patterns before him. "I need some time."

"You are too drained, Inspector-"

Bookman's protest didn't slow Link at all. "This spell will draw attention. Can you keep them off me for a few moments?"

-x-

**Author's Notes**: Sorry for dragging the rescue on for another chapter. I'm that special. You'll be pleased to know that the cliffhanger won't last too long, and it gets a bit more exciting, since the vast majority of the next chapter is already written and should be posted soon. It was approaching twenty pages so I decided it needed to be broken up. The attempt to be short and concise is officially over, folks. I am apparently incapable.

Thanks to everyone who left comments, excluding the broccoli attack on the bunker. ; ) ::hides from silverfox:: I'll have that next part posted in a day or two, and then I'll need to break out the bunker again.


	8. Rescue?

Disclaimer in previous chapters. Please see Author's Notes at the end.

-x-

When the small blizzard cleared, he could scarcely believe his eyes.

It was like something from a fairy tale. Everywhere he looked, the Exorcist was standing. His head was bowed, like it had been before the onslaught from above, and the re-falling snow set upon his frazzled curled hair.

Thirty times.

As one, each of the Exorcists moved, and struck their Innocence to the ground. And as one, thirty of those strange dolls rose up from the ruined floor. They were all smaller than the first one that had been destroyed, only three times the height of the Exorcists that created them, and that was where the synchronized movement ended.

As three teams, the Innocence shapes focused on one of the level fours.

So it wasn't a simple smoke and mirrors trick. And none of those thirty Exorcists so much as moved a muscle as their dolls engaged the level fours.

Sheryl leaned his forearm on the wall, watching intently through what was for all intents and purposes akin to an archer's window. The crack in the stone wall went from floor to ceiling, so it was letting in a bit of a draft, but a wood-fed stove stood not twenty feet down the hallway from him, making the temperature bearable. His project had been forced to face the dining-room-turned-courtyard after the level fours' first attack, in fact been forced to dodge, but as ordered he had returned to his place, his dark eyes scanning the thirty replicas of his old master.

His gaze never lingered on one for more than a few seconds, and once he had taken in all of them he returned to idle staring. If he could tell which of the mannequins was actually Froi Tiedoll, he did not give it away.

The dolls the general had created, however, were substantially different. Perhaps he could not easily control so many in one go, or perhaps producing them with doppelgangers of himself caused them to be weaker. The level fours were plowing through them, and as one failed to fully block a barrage of bullets, one of the mannequins was hit. Its left arm was broken off at the shoulder, but it still raised its right, as did all the others, and thrust its Innocence replica to the ruined floor.

And thirty more dolls rose up to replace those that had been destroyed.

Sheryl couldn't help a grin. This was nothing more than a strategy to give the general time to find a solution. Which he well might; there was nothing to actually say that he was any of the Froi Tiedolls standing out there. For all Sheryl knew, he'd used the smokescreen to escape into the house and was standing in the hall behind him.

He wasn't, of course, but the point was he might not be in plain sight. Sheryl closed his eyes.

_Akuma._

The name he'd given it – Theodore –meant nothing. He searched out the one he wanted, and found him with his 'surprise,' which was surprising enough.

_Kill the junior Exorcist._

Making the human fight his old teammate could be fun, but was predictable, and frankly the samurai was not up to the job. He had not regained the weight he'd lost through his pride and disobedience, nor had Sheryl allowed the boy to train as he normally would have. This had resulted in decreased physical performance, unless of course he could count on the human to use whatever technique he had that second morning . . .

Probably relating to his curse, somehow. And even if he could, Sheryl wasn't entirely certain he could defeat his blind friend.

In fact, if the human had not told him the large African was blind, he would never have been able to tell. He fought brilliantly, using thin strands of Innocence to ensnare Akuma. Even as he watched, the Exorcist caught one of the level fours by its foot, temporarily trapping it. By himself he was no threat, but the team of ten dolls took advantage of the momentary distraction, concentrating their attack.

The level four was damaged, but only slightly, and Sheryl scanned the ruined dining hall once more. Surely no General's Innocence could respond so well without direct supervision. Wherever he was, Froi Tiedoll could see what was going on.

So when he saw his precious pupil being attacked, he would have no choice but to respond.

But then Sheryl realized Theodore was too far out, and the slightly damaged level four was simply too angry to wait.

-x-

He'd figured out in the snowbank that he was singularly suited for this task, but now that he was there, undetected and just on the edge of the battle, Allen Walker wasn't actually sure what to do.

For one, there were too many generals to protect. There had to be two dozen or more figures in traveling cloaks holding Maker of Eden in that mostly collapsed room, and none of them moved.

For another, he already knew the maximum number of enemies he could handle. One. The first time he had fought a level four, he had been injured and exhausted from the previous fight. The second time he had been distracted and it had cost him. This time he knew what it would take, and was confident that he could handle one. And of course that meant that Froi Tiedoll could as well, despite the fact that his two dozen dolls didn't seem to be gaining the upper hand.

But that third Akuma, it was going to be a problem. And that wasn't even counting the Noah that Allen couldn't seem to catch sight of, that had to be there, somewhere-

It might be better to take everyone and run. Distract the Akuma, give the general and his team enough time to get back to Lavi and Bookman, open a Gate and run. It had worked when the Akuma had taken Kanda, after all.

Too well.

Marie wouldn't be fighting so hard to get to that figure if it wasn't Kanda, and he trusted that Noise Marie would know the difference. But to his eyes, that form could not possibly be who it only passingly resembled.

He just stood there. Watching. His hair was cut short and his shirt was pressed and starched. There was a sword at his side, Allen had seen it when a gust of wind had moved his coat, but he did not reach for it. He simply stood there, ignored by the Akuma, and watched.

Allen ducked a little at an explosion directly above, and fragments of Innocence fell all around, evaporating before they touched him.

"I'll smash you!" It was one of the levels fours, sounding enraged, and with an angry howl it dove directly for Noise Marie.

And there was no more time to think.

He extended Clown Belt with a gesture, bracing himself on the exposed foundation of the room, and caught the level four by its right arm. Marie hadn't been idle either; he had grabbed a large chunk of debris with Noel Organon and yanked it into the way. The result was a powerful swing that Allen could only partially control, and the level four bellowed in rage and took full advantage.

With Allen as the tether, the Akuma was free to change its trajectory just a little. Just enough to skim the floor of the dining room turned courtyard. Allen didn't realize that was its aim until the first statue of Tiedoll was struck by bullets Art was in no position to block, from the Akuma's free left arm. Allen yanked backwards as hard as he could, hurling the Akuma head over heels into the sky rather than its planned impact with the house. He succeeded in pulling it away from the generals, but the damage was done.

Less than half of the generals were still standing, and now Allen was attached to an Akuma that was heading skyward with increasing speed.

It was almost like a large kite on a windy day. Momentarily irritated, it quickly realized it had a new toy, and before Allen could pull Crown Clown back, the Akuma had grabbed hold of his Innocence.

"Another Exorcist?" Then it yanked.

Allen could create slack and did so, but even with a significant amount he still went flying. Not nearly as high as the Akuma would have liked; Allen had just enough time to wrap the cowl around himself before he landed where his target should have.

Several feet on the opposite side of a rock wall.

Some time passed, he was sure; he seemed to him he just blinked but he found that his Innocence had vanished, cowl and all, and it was quite dark. There was a lot of noise, though, and he tried to bring up his arm to wipe his stinging eyes. Rock and rubble tumbled down his coat and across his chest, and a fairly hefty piece of debris slid onto his left hip.

The stinging fluid was not easily wiped away, and he shook his head, struggling into a sitting position. He was cold all over but not shivering, and directly above him was a large bronze chandelier, gas lights cheerfully sputtering.

He was in the house.

Allen winced and pulled himself out of the remainder of the wall, which was now on the floor, and got his first good look at outside.

He wished he hadn't.

Marie was tangling with a level four, probably not the same one, but Allen could see in an instant that something had happened. The one Exorcist that was certain to know which of those statues was the actual general was doing his best to hold the level four back from one particular corner of the ruined hall, but that didn't matter. Marie must have glanced, or leaned, or called a warning outright to his general. Or the opposite; perhaps Tiedoll had responded to the sudden attack on Noise Marie and given himself away. Whatever the reason, Kanda had chosen one of those Tiedolls, and he was no longer watching.

He was airborne, sword held over his head, ready to cleave one of those Tiedoll mannequins in half from crown to colon.

Allen activated Crown Clown, but even in that blink of time it was over.

-x-

Sheryl almost laughed in delight, watching the junior Exorcist closely as the level four was diverted from its target. Bullets sprayed across the ground, now beneath the protective blanket of all of that Innocence, and half of the figures of General Froi Tiedoll were cut down where they stood.

The Akuma was diverted upwards by something, and then the junior Exorcist paused, tilting his head just so. Pointing his ear towards the heartbeat of his master, no doubt, it gave him the corner and direction, but not the exact body.

Something struck the house with a resounding crash, reminding Sheryl that the lights were still on and it might be a good time to think about getting box seats, but then the human, _his_ human moved abruptly, seizing his sword and leaping from his place in one movement.

A mix of pride and anticipation filled him, so that it was hard for him to stay still. How Sheryl longed to go out there, to watch unobstructed. To see which it would be, death or betrayal.

His human thought he only had two choices, after all. He could end his general's suffering, for he knew well that there was no finish to this night but the death of his past colleagues. Or he could end himself by fighting at their side to the same inevitable conclusion.

Of course, the samurai knew he was disposable, that there would be little point in keeping him alive after this. No matter what choice he made, he would probably not live to see the morning. It was more likely that he would choose to side with old fellows than remain loyal to his new master. Sheryl simply hadn't had enough time.

The samurai poised his weapon over his head, having selected a single target, no different than the others but certainly in the right place. Had Tiedoll given himself away?

_I have located the general, master Noah._

And Theodore, who was to be killing Noise Marie, centered on the same figure. He had come from a different angle, Sheryl's limited view had not seen him, and the Akuma's armored arm struck the human's blade just as he was bringing it down.

Whether it was an intentional block or not, the strike knocked both of them off balance. Kanda reacted quickly, bracing both feet on the figure he had been about to cut in half lengthwise and pushing off, slicing his sword through the air to sling his opponent away. The Tiedoll that he had tread upon toppled forward stiffly to land on its face in the snow, and the other statues once again brought Innocence to the earth, creating more glowing men to defend them.

So Noise Marie had misled them on purpose, to test his once-partner? Or to draw any hiding Akuma into the open?

It hardly mattered; when the human saw what had contacted it, and Theodore saw who had blocked its attack, both of them smiled at one another, and Sheryl considered that a moment before he decided it was amusing.

It was amusing as hell. The human knew he was dead, and his last efforts would be not to end his general's suffering, but to strike back at his tormentors.

_You may kill him, Akuma._ It wasn't like it would be permanent. Not until he woke the Tease.

Speaking of which . . .

He watched the first flurry of strikes, samurai against Akuma, and then chuckled to himself and headed towards the back of the house. The risk of being seen was too great with the level fours so incensed, and he could see better from the trees than he could through a crack in the wall.

This was not the time to hide like a mouse.

-x-

He couldn't do anything. He couldn't even pound the ground in frustration, not without endangering the general and Marie. So he stood there, as guilty as Kanda, and watched his unrecognizable teammate turn on the Akuma that had accidentally stopped him from killing his own general.

Lavi had been right, they shouldn't have just charged in. And now he could see that the general had been right as well, right to leave him behind. This was no place for anyone but the generals.

Allen Walker was standing, despite being thrown through a wall and the gash across his forehead that was staining both his hair and his face. After a glance at the fight he hurled himself into the air with Crown Clown, brandishing his sword and knocking a level four into the one Marie was wrestling like a baseball. Both Akuma crashed into the mansion, disappearing momentarily as the third level four glowed with energy.

When it stopped glowing, its arms were giant guns, and Allen leapt in front of it, cowl extended, as it opened fire on the destroyed hall and all those statues of Master Tiedoll.

Chaoji Han ducked beside a waist-high section of ruined wall, unclenching his teeth. Somewhere in there his general was fighting, Marie was fighting. He had to be able to do _something._

"You're a fool, Exorcist."

It was slick and evil, the voice of a machine, and Chaoji realized with a start that it was the level three, speaking to Kanda. None of the bullets had reached the ruined hall ground, and when Allen was driven again headfirst into the snow-dusted debris, Chaoji could clearly see Kanda parrying a bone-jarring blow. He slipped a bit in the melted ice, and the Akuma floated slightly into the air, bringing its fists together into a battering ram.

"Your sword can't cut me," it taunted, and then the fists struck. Snow was hurled into the air, obscuring the fighters, and above him, one of the level fours howled.

Master's Arts were moving much more quickly now, impossibly quickly. Three of them had grabbed hold of the Akuma's limbs, gun arms and all, and were all but keelhauling him without a keel. Energy crackled as the Akuma fought to keep itself together, and then Marie's strings were grabbing the remaining limb and wings. A ball of snow broke out from the smoke of the courtyard, unwinding to reveal Crown Clown's mask, and with a terrific cry of effort Allen Walker brought his sword down just like Kanda had tried to do, cleaving the Akuma in half from its head down.

And he succeeded. Though the cut did not go all the way through, it rent the front of the Akuma, and it was torn limb from limb. The explosion was deafening, and he curled his arms over his head and ducked, hating himself.

There was nothing he could do. He wasn't skilled enough yet, he didn't have enough experience. With all the doppelgangers of Master Tiedoll on the ground, unless one of the level fours came close enough to grab . . .

"Do you understand why you will fail, human? Why your sword has no effect?"

It was the level three, less than twenty feet away. Just on the other side of the damaged foundation. There was a crash and grind of metal on metal, the hiss of feet sliding in snow and ice.

"Because I made that sword just for you."

The words didn't really register. The point was that on the other side of that wall, there was an Akuma. An Akuma on the ground, within reach. An Akuma he could fight. It was a level three, a higher level than he had ever attempted to take on, but in the air one of the Arts cried out as it was destroyed, and one of those four still-standing statues had to be his master.

Chaoji took his arms off his head and stood.

They were both so _fast._ Unmindful of the fight above, ignoring the bullets that penetrated master's and Allen's line of defense. Unmindful wasn't even the right word. They were oblivious. And reckless, overreaching their thrusts, sliding on the uneven terrain. Marie was trying to get a string or two free to assist Kanda, and the level three saw it, glaring at the tall Exorcist as it gathered a ball of dark matter in its mouth.

"No hurry, you're next." The Akuma's back was mostly to him, it clearly was unaware of his presence, and Chaoji braced his hands on the waist-high ruins, vaulting into the air almost silently.

His plan was simple. He was going to tackle it, and then rip off its head. His Innocence glowed on his wrist, active without his even having to ask, and Chaoji focused on the back lip of the level three's helmet. As good a place to grab as any.

"So you do want to play?"

He had only enough time to look to his right before he realized what was going on, and in that second, his Innocence-laden arm shot forward, capturing the level four's gun to push it forward. It went off like the sun, right in his face, and Chaoji yelled in fright, doing the next thing that came to mind.

Crushing.

His hand smashed the gun barrel flat, and the next bullet exploded inside it, shattering the crushed end. It jolted his arm to his shoulder and he reflexively let go, landing in a heap in the snow. His arm was totally numb and Chaoji struggled to righten himself, to find his opponent-

And he saw was the last standing Froi Tiedoll, breaking into seven pieces.

Every last image of his master was destroyed or half-buried in snow and ice. There were no more Arts in the air, just Allen Walker, panting and painting the landscape red. The level four that had prevented his attack on the level three was floating on its side only a few yards away, reforming its ruined arm with a frown, and Kanda let out a yell of pain as the level three caught the blade of his sword in one hand and the front of his coat and chest with the other.

And Chaoji realized again that this really was no place for him.

Where the hell were Lavi and Bookman? Just watching? Like Kanda had been?

He raised his right hand, trying to form a fist, but his fingers wouldn't obey, they felt stiff and full of fluid. The level four caught him watching it and smiled, pointing its newly formed gun arm directly at him.

"You're no fun."

And then it fired.

Everything happened all at once.

Noel Organon wound around the level four, yanking the newly formed arm to the side, even as it discharged. At the same time, Kanda leveraged the hand on his chest, hooking one leg around the Akuma's arm and planting the other in its jaw, where another ball of menacing pink energy was building.

Behind the level four, Art rose out of the ground in all his restored glory.

And Chaoji, with no other option, ducked.

There was a howl of frustration from the level four, followed by a powerful explosion and the sound of a great deal of snow being packed. There was so much ice in the air that Chaoji choked, and somewhere far away, he heard someone shout.

"Kanda!"

"Chaoji!"

The second voice had him on his feet before he knew he could stand. "Here!" he called back, staring into the whirling snowstorm their activities had kicked up. But-

A face loomed out of the snow, a white mustache and a ridiculous wide hat of snow. "Ach, I could have sworn I asked you to stay in Belgrade . . ."

And the rest of the figure stepped forward, brushing the ice off his traveling cloak.

"Master-"

Chaoji was grabbed by the elbow and bodily dragged beside the general as he broke into a light run. "How is Allen-kun?"

Chaoji blinked at him, nonplussed, but the night answered for him. "In need of our assistance." The shadow of Marie became visible as they escaped the cloud of kicked up snow. He had an arm across his back, half-carrying a figure in a brown coat, and Kanda Yuu looked at him only a moment before glancing at their general.

"There are four."

"I heard." Marie's voice was clipped. "We will be hidden only a moment longer, master-"

"Art is a large enough target for now. Where is the Noah?"

Marie gestured with a jerk of his head. "Behind us, in the woods. I hear more than one heartbeat."

Tiedoll frowned, and then looked down at his hand, which was almost crushing Chaoji's elbow. He gave him an apologetic smile and released him, but did not slow in the slightest. "I apologize for frightening you. Take Yuu and return to Lavi and Bookman, as quickly as you can."

And without further ado he was presented with a half-mobile Kanda.

Chaoji yelped but caught him, and nothing happened. He was not attacked for touching Kanda. He was not even yelled at; a thin arm clamped around his neck and he grabbed the dangling wrist, hesitantly wrapping his arm around the younger man. Kanda didn't even look at him. He reeked of Akuma gas and was favoring his right leg quite badly.

The general and Marie turned back for the mansion before Chaoji could even ask. How had he known Lavi and Bookman were there . . .?

Marie. He had heard them. So he knew about Inspector Link, too.

There was an almightly bang behind him, the collision of two colossal things, and Chaoji grabbed hold of the surprisingly light Kanda and ran.

-x-

The level four cocked its head to the side as he climbed to his feet, and Froi Tiedoll had a hard time hiding his annoyance.

It was in the way. "I'm getting a bit too old for playing in the snow, I'm afraid."

Art crushed the level four into whatever lay beneath the flooring of the dining hall turned battlefield, and Tiedoll didn't bother with the ice still clinging to his face and hair. Allen Walker showing up was one thing, but if that had been Chaoji Han-

And if Yuu had put him in that much danger just to throw his own opponent into the line of fire . . . he was old, but not too old to put them over his knee. The general cocked an ear to the second level four, still engaged with Walker, but it was too far out for Art to continue keeping his opponent pinned and help the other Critical.

"Kanda!" Marie had moved fearlessly into the whirl of white, the snow they had kicked up was thick enough to choke on, but it didn't bother the large African.

"Chaoji!"

"-here!" The voice sounded none the worse for wear, and Tiedoll located his apprentice easily. The young man was understandably stunned, looking both frightened and guilty, and he bit his angry words back.

At least he was still alive. "Ach, I could have sworn I asked you to stay in Belgrade . . ." He shook the rest of the snow off himself, trying to appear casual, but it was all the reassurance he could give the man.

"Master-"

He scooped him up by the elbow and started for the west woods, trusting Maker of Eden's sense of direction. They didn't have long, and he turned to the icy cloud that surrounded them. "How is Allen-kun?"

Marie sounded anything but relieved. "In need of our assistance." Yet when he became visible, Tiedoll could clearly see that he'd been successful. Despite Chaoji's unexpected entrance and Kanda's carelessness both were still in one piece. Yuu wasn't even putting up a fight, hobbling on a ruined leg and only with Marie's help. The larger man had a persistent pucker of skin gathered between his eyes.

Marie was furious.

Yuu sensed their scrutiny, glancing first at Chaoji, then at him. Then he opened his mouth and spoke. "There are four." It was utterly without inflection, and he would not maintain eye contact.

"I heard." Noise Marie wasn't cutting him any slack at all, and his tone was only slightly more congenial when Marie addressed him.. "We will be hidden only a moment longer, master-"

Unfortunate but true. "Art is a large enough target for now." He would certainly be keeping one of the level fours occupied, but Walker was injured and could not hold his own for long. They were going to have to rescue the rescuers, it seemed. "Where is the Noah?"

Marie jerked his head backwards as they ran. "Behind us, in the woods. I hear more than one heartbeat."

It could have been the human slaves in the house . . . or it could be another Noah. Bringing him back to the unanswered question of what the Noah were really after. Just him? Three level fours and more than one Noah was overkill. He could not hope to defeat such enemies on his own. But what had prompted the presence of Allen Walker and both Bookmen? Clearly Chaoji had told them where to look, but what were they doing here on the same night if they too had not received tokens?

The bracelet lay heavy in his pocket; he had held it to his nose and mouth and previously had no doubts that it had been worn by Kanda. Yet should he doubt it? Should he doubt his instincts that it truly was Yuu half-hanging from Marie?

Tiedoll gave Chaoji a reassuring smile and let go of him, trusting him to run on his own. He was strong, but not necessarily fast. And Yuu was in no condition to fight, but he could not afford to leave Marie behind as well, not if he truly expected to help Allen Walker.

There was nothing else for it. They would have to prevent the level fours from taking interest in Bookman's group. "I apologize for frightening you. Take Yuu and return to Lavi and Bookman, as quickly as you can."

Marie passed him to the startled seaman, who yelped but accepted the burden without question. He was starting to trust them, trust their judgment, but the way he juggled his teammate, it was clear that he was uncertain. And of course; he had seen what everyone else had seen, what the Noah had seen. He had seen Kanda Yuu attack his general.

Marie was going to yell at him for taking unnecessary risks.

He and Marie turned on a dime, even as Art was thrown back far enough for the level four beneath his foot to escape. The fourth level four had seen them retreat and was well on its way, and it appeared Allen Walker was unaware.

He said it quietly even as they both broke into a sprint. "Were they able to communicate to Allen?"

"Yes, master. His earring has a radio, and Timcanpy stayed with Lavi."

That was something. So he too was aware he could not use a Gate to escape. "Have you determined what Inspector Link is doing?"

Marie gave him a rare grimace. "I do not know, but his heartbeat is erratic." He flung his Innocence forth even as they came to a stop, not even half the distance between the house and the forest. "Master, Kanda . . . there is something wrong. He would normally have resisted my help."

His recklessness could be attributed to anger, true rage, which of course he would harbor at any Akuma he had had to tolerate for such a long period of time. But an angry Kanda would also refuse help. He would want to stand on his own, deny rescue. He hadn't.

In fact, he was _letting_ them rescue him. And while most Exorcists would be glad of the help, Yuu would show his gratefulness and relief with scoffing and irritation. He wasn't.

Marie was correct. Something was terribly wrong.

-x-

Link hadn't been kidding when he'd said he was going to be drawing attention. Whatever he was doing generated light, generated wind, and generated heat. He had repeated it five times now, each word with the exact inflection of the previous iteration, and Lavi wasn't honestly sure if that was because he had to keep invocating to prevent the partial spell from fizzling or because he had to create an instance for each of them.

Crow were something he knew little about, and if the situation was not so dire, he had a feeling Howard Link would never have revealed this side of himself to either him or Bookman. He knew that the spell he was chanting was now known verbatim to the Bookmen clan, and while Lavi had only a passing interest in the occults and thus no desire to try the thing himself, Gigi was a mystery in that department.

A mystery that was currently keeping a wall of perfectly black needles from allowing the light and wind of what Link was doing to be visible from the mansion.

And succeeding brilliantly. The Akuma had been tied up with Tiedoll and Allen, and Lavi rubbed his hands together for warmth, watching the general and Noise Marie cover Chaoji's retreat by engaging the fourth level four.

Four level fours. He was surprised they hadn't started fighting one another; perhaps that was why the Noah had held one back until one had been destroyed. Still, it was more than the two Criticals could defeat.

Lavi turned his head in Timcanpy's direction. "Oi, Allen, get back here!"

The microphone caught Allen's bark of pain as some attack landed successfully. "I would – if I could-" His breathing was getting harder, and his responses less frequent. Allen was tiring fast.

The Art Tiedoll had left to help him had raised both its hands to protect its head, but even so was being driven backwards by the force of the level four's attacks. Bright pink dark matter flew out of the thing at an impossible rate, the amount of power they could focus was just massive. And they all looked the same, just like level threes generally looked the same. The Akuma were evolving, clearly, but into what? The pot bellies . . . did they perhaps give birth to the next evolution more literally than their previous mutations?

The level four was intent on Chaoji and Kanda; Tiedoll was forced to make another Art and that would put the number over a hundred. A hundred dolls that had been created and destroyed. Surely at some point there was a limit to what the general could do. Neither of the large Innocence-created dolls were moving quite as fast as they had been even a few minutes ago, although their sudden increase in both speed and strength had been impressive.

It probably meant the general wasn't holding back, and this was all he had. And Garden of Eden would not be enough to protect them from three level fours.

"Hey, Allen . . . if Tiedoll can make dolls of himself, out of Innocence . . . and make 'em look like him down to the mustache . . ."

Tim broadcast the sound of Allen panting, but he was completely invisible in the wreckage that was starting to outnumber standing sections of the mansion.

"Then why do you suppose he normally makes 'em look like naked men wearing tutus?"

The transmission crackled with the volume of Allen's reply. "-S THIS REALLY THE TIME TO BE WONDERING THAT?!"

"Look up one of the tutus and tell me what you see!" He put the smile into his voice, but it wasn't anywhere near his face. Link was only starting on the seventh iteration of his invocation and his voice wasn't as strong as it used to be. Whatever he was doing, Lavi hoped it was something that wouldn't break if the caster's concentration slipped. They were going to have to carry the inspector out of here, and it looked like Kanda too.

His attention was brought back to the general as the level four perfectly imitated a gesture its less advanced predecessor had done in Edo. It didn't need to say 'Evil Star Gita' to get the point across, and in all honesty the gesture was almost mocking. It still achieved the same effect.

"Lavi!" Though Bookman could not see what was going on, he still had keen ears.

"On it!" He picked up the hammer swiftly, growing it to an acceptable size, and extended it as quickly as possible. The trees gave them some protection, but there was none to be had for Chaoji and Kanda. A hammer made a better umbrella than nothing at all. "Allen-"

Silence, just before the explosions started raining down. Tim flapped his wings harder, as if it would make the transmission stronger, but Lavi heard nothing but static.

"Allen!"

-x-

"What's the matter? You look positively grumpy this evening."

His companion did nothing at all. He was sitting rather stiffly on a thick branch, leaning against the tree trunk with his legs crossed at the ankles and dapper hat perched on his head. Such a shame to be hiding that hair, too, and it wasn't as if he needed to keep the hat on for heat. If he didn't want cold air to touch him, it didn't.

Sulking a little, Sheryl pulled his coat more closely about himself, standing on the opposite branch of the same tree. The house was taking a beating, but it had served its purpose. A perfect replica, too. Rather a waste if the whole thing was destroyed before the Exorcists died. He had wanted to leave a somewhat lasting memorial to their struggle.

And such an exciting one! Playing the odds, even playing dead all in an attempt to make him change his strategy. Tiedoll really was a master; if not for that Japanese boy Froi Tiedoll could conceivably have used his duplication trick to escape.

Now it was not an option, despite the pointless attempt. The level four he had held back was quite intent, one of the more mature of the group of European level fours. Not so caught up in itself and the newness of its perception. Only slightly more powerful, but significantly more dangerous. The forest would offer no more protection than the open grounds.

And the Musician . . . that had been a surprise. Perhaps it shouldn't have been, he had kidnapped the other Exorcist right under his nose and that would gall Allen Walker to no end. Sheryl closed his eyes, reaching out to the mind that he should have found, but there was only silence, even as the boy cried out in pain.

Of course the Musician was not fully matured or expressed, but even if he had been, allowing that kind of communication was suicide. The Earl would hear him and crush his mind instantly.

_There was a time you did not hide from me_, he sent in the general direction of Walker, and was pleased when there was a tremendous impact into the house. Perhaps that mental wall was not as thick as he'd thought.

"Ne, brother, did you try to speak to him?"

Tyki didn't respond at all, and Sheryl watched a rain of dark matter smash into the grounds. Tiedoll was exhausted, and his Innocence was showing it. The Walker boy was simply too inexperienced, and the Musician was not cogent enough to help him now. It wouldn't be long.

"I wonder why he hasn't attempted to use the Ark yet," Sheryl continued to muse aloud. Tyki's silence was a curiosity, so he pressed it. "Do you have nothing to say to him?"

Tyki blew out a sigh, then patted the front of his coat down, obviously looking for a smoke. "Heavens no. I'm far too delicate and terrified."

It was utterly empty, as if he had been reading a sentence in a language he could only pronounce and not comprehend, and Sheryl glanced at him openly, taken aback.

"Excuse me?"

Elegant fingers found both tobacco and light, and Tyki's eyes closed in pleasure at the first puff. "He dealt me such crippling injuries I dare not approach."

It clicked, and Sheryl felt a wide grin stretch across his cold face. "Oh, you spoke to the human about it, did you? Don't tell me you're actually offended . . ." As if something so cosmopolitan _could_ offend Pleasure.

Tyki let the smoke curl from his nostrils with the steam of his breath. Choosing to feel the cold, then. How intriguing. But he said nothing, and Sheryl turned back to the battle rather than continuing to stare. "I've told you before, your unparallel beauty arouses me, and after I saw what joy Rhode took in her ministrations, I simply wanted to understand the appeal. That's all."

Tyki said nothing, though his eyebrow arched. "How many Akuma did you tell the Earl you would return to him?"

An odd question, and he sharpened his attention. The attack on Chaoji Han and Kanda had been successful despite the interference of something large and black . . . another Exorcist? "The general has endless numbers of pups as his disposal, doesn't he."

But Tyki leaned forward, irritation clearly shelved for the present. "That one . . . Mr. Eyepatch. He was on the team assigned to Cross Marian."

As Allen had been . . . perhaps they had been traveling together when Walker got wind of the last 'present' he'd sent to the Order. His thoughts were interrupted by a mental wail of defeat, and a second level four succumbed to damages inflicted by Innocence.

Two destroyed. And the second was the one he had kept in the wings. He whistled. "Perhaps I should let him live for this accomplishment."

Tyki Mikk said nothing, though his attention was still riveted on the woods across the lawns. A bright surge in the air indicated Allen Walker, pursued by both of the two remaining level four, and Sheryl tilted his head.

". . . surely the boy is not leading them right back to the group . . ." Did he think they could defend as a team? He half expected that the boy had refused to leave on the general's order and was planning to sacrifice himself, but-

"What do I care?" The sarcasm was back in full force, and the dark-skinned man leaned back against the tree again, no less relaxed than before. "I'm beautiful and nothing else."

" . . . you _are_ offended!" He couldn't believe his ears. True, he had orchestrated the event, had even been pleased with the reported result, but this . . . Tyki was honestly upset with him. "Brother, really-"

There was a rather bright flash of light in the direction of the struggle, possibly a last stand, but the Akuma were not hit. Nor did they respond with an attack of their own; they advanced on the Exorcists before he sensed from them –

Bafflement.

_The Exorcists are gone._

_Nonsense,_ he snapped. _The Ark gate would not have closed had they utilized one. They are merely hidden by the snow and shadows._

But he searched the treeline as well, and saw nothing. No light, no shadow. It was a distance but his eyes were still good.

"Brother, do you sense the Tease you placed in my project?"

"No, I'm far too useless for that." The quip was immediate, and Sheryl cast a frown over his shoulder.

"You would allow such a small thing to interfere with giving the Earl his Musician?"

Tyki shrugged. "You weren't tasked with capturing the Musician."

What he had been tasked with was none of Tyki's business, and his brother gave him a smirk. "Why, brother Sheryl, you seem rather cross."

"The Tease, Tyki. Where are they?"

"They're tools. You can communicate with them as well as I."

Not that any of them had really practiced that in quite a long time, considering how relatively time-consuming it was to nurture Tease to any reasonable size. He gave it a try, thinking to the chattering little things, but then it occurred to him that they were sleeping, nearly inactive. And the only ones that responded to him were inside Tyki, which caused the man to chuckle.

"That tickles."

The Akuma were having no more luck finding the suddenly vanished Exorcists, and Sheryl sighed sharply. "I am glad I could bring you pleasure, brother."

He'd overstepped the line and he knew it, but he expected Tyki to become defensive and give him what he wanted. Instead, Tyki finished his cigarette, tossing the burning remnant to the forest floor.

"Perhaps you will find them when he passes- ah."

And Sheryl did sense them. Just on the outskirts of the property line, exactly where they had been programmed to respond. They only chattered for a second, receiving confirmation, and then they self-destructed.

Unfortunately, it wasn't enough to simply hurt him. The Tease would shatter the joints of his arms at the shoulder and elbow, and his legs at the hip and knee, but that was all. The boy's curse wasn't fully exhausted, if he had known at the time he'd asked Tyki to implant them – or thought about it when Tyki had replaced them-

"Don't worry, brother Sheryl. Beautiful and useless as I may be, I cleaned up your mess." Tyki stepped onto the air in front of the branch, turning his face up to the moon. "He may grow eyes back, but I have yet to see a curse restore someone's brain."

So he had placed a Tease to be fatal . . ? Surprising forethought for Pleasure. And the death of the one they fought so hard to rescue should have had a profound effect on the concentration of whichever Exorcist was hiding them. _Akuma, center your attack directly in front of you._

"As the Earl would say, even with a crappy gun, fire enough and you'll hit something." But moment after moment passed, and the Exorcists did not reappear.

Tyki stepped off toward a Gate. "I am afraid I am too weak to remain outdoors any longer. I'll give Rhode your regards."

Sheryl watched him go, watched until the Gate was closed and every visible sliver of Tyki Mikk was gone.

How fascinating. But unfortunately a study of Tyki Mikk had not been what the Earl asked him to do.

_Level that forest, Akuma. Do not miss a square inch._

-x-

He sat up with a cough, choking on snow, and a few yards to his right Kanda was trying to pick himself up as well. Bullets sprayed snow into the air between them, they were everywhere and Lavi couldn't block them all.

"Chaoji! Look out!"

The level four had clearly tired of mimicking the giant Akuma that he had seen Tiedoll fight in Edo, transforming its arms once again into large guns. Art grabbed it by the face but this barrage of bullets was faster than the last, it cut through Art's wrist effortlessly. Despite being severed from the body Art's hand continued to squeeze the Akuma's head, and it batted at the Innocence in annoyance, still firing.

Firing a string of bullets directly towards them both.

He'd figured out earlier that Kanda had been voluntarily leaning on him because he couldn't do anything else. A bullet or an explosion had streaked down the outside of his leg from hip to ankle and he couldn't even bend his knee. He rolled, but the snow was thick and it just wasn't fast enough.

But now they were far enough from the general and Marie. Now they were on the ground, and he knew how to fight on the ground.

"Kanda, go!" His right hand still wouldn't form a fist, but he didn't need it to. His left did fine, and he buried it into the frozen ground. The shock of his strike displaced the actual rock and mud beneath the snow, sending it straight up in a wall that blocked the attack.

He was getting better at that one, keeping it localized. And with his left hand, too.

"Way to go!" Lavi shouted from behind him, and he stayed exactly where he was. This he could do. Become a second line of defense for whatever it was Bookman and Lavi were hiding behind Heavenly Compass.

Inspector Link, obviously, but what was he doing, and why were they waiting . . .?

Chaoji glanced across the trench to see that Kanda was actually obeying him, limping his way towards the treeline. It wasn't exactly straight to Lavi or Bookman, but it wasn't like he had any hope of outrunning them, or escaping.

Maybe he just needed to be close enough to signal the _next_ level four where everyone was, so they could be found and annihilated.

He closed his eyes, turning his face away from a slap he deserved. Marie would not have touched him if he was not who they said he was. The general would not have trusted him during that attack. They believed he was the true Kanda, despite how different he looked, how different he acted . . . even as he caught a tree trunk to keep from falling, there was none of the usual grumbling. No cursing, no muttering. He didn't acknowledge Lavi's stare any more than he did anyone else's, he simply leaned his forehead against the young tree and tried to catch his breath.

Chaoji had heard him refuse to speak before, but had never heard him so _quiet._ Just how long had he been a prisoner, to be so thin? Just what had happened to him?

What if he turned? What if he was one of the Earl's slaves? And where was Mugen? Destroyed? Surely the Noah would have destroyed his Innocence, it should have been the first thing. Was Kanda silent because he knew he was no longer an Exorcist?

Or was this shame?

Tiedoll would be so disappointed with him. He still couldn't bring himself to truly forgive Allen Walker, especially not when he knew, when they all knew, what he was. He couldn't trust him, though he still seemed the same nice young man he'd met in Edo. And he knew that that distrust bothered his master, though he didn't know why.

It was too soon not to trust Kanda. So far, he hadn't done anything . . . except attack the general, but that had ended up blocking an Akuma's attack . . . and he'd taken huge risks in his fight with the Akuma, there was nothing saying that it hadn't been staged, and that Marie's last-minute attack hadn't accidentally damaged that level three . . .

Bullets flew by, from farther out, and Chaoji dodged as his wall was reduced to dirt. He quickly pounded up another one, higher, deeper, and one behind that. Layers of walls, they had to buy time for the general to help Allen-

Something flew by overhead, and crunching snow soon revealed Noise Marie. He dodged the dirt walls as if he could see them, and the bright glow of Art was being bombarded with bullets.

"Let's go!"

He nodded, following the taller man, and it wasn't long before they all hit the treeline. Allen Walker was on his knees, panting beside the giant needle wall, and Lavi had grown Ozuchi Kozuchi to gigantic proportions to protect them from bullets.

But what good would that do? All the Akuma had to do was fly closer. Art would not be able to fend them off for long. Even as his general jogged towards them, his weariness was obvious. Never had he seen his general so slow, nor so stiff.

. . . was he injured . . .?

"Inspector Link," the general greeted, eyeing the odd shapes and cards. "What is this plan of yours?"

Oddly, the blond inspector ignored the general entirely, muttering to himself, and Lavi gave them a big smile. "Another few seconds should do it."

". . . do what?" Somehow, Allen made it sound a little less hopeless than he looked saying it.

A last symbol was laid on the ground, and there was a tremendous flash of light. So bright that Bookman's wall would have done nothing to hide it. Yet the Exorcist calmly and quickly gathered his needles, even as Howard Link bent at the waist and choked.

"Inspector!"

"Carry him," Bookman commanded, and Marie stepped forward quickly. Chaoji glanced back at the Akuma.

"But we can't outrun them-"

"They cannot see, smell, or hear us. But this effect will not last long." Bookman nodded his head, and Chaoji followed his gaze to Kanda, who was standing just outside their group, looking at the runes on the ground curiously. The moment he realized there was attention on him he frowned, and said the first thing that sounded even remotely like him.

"I can walk-"

"The Exorcists are hiding!" It was a level four, and Lavi uneasily watched them before grimacing and letting his Innocence shrink. Letting them come closer.

Chaoji headed immediately for Kanda. Tiedoll had said take him and run, and that was what he would do. But to where? The train? Weren't they leading the Akuma right back to Belgrade?

There was no argument or questions, though, everyone else seemed to know their part. Lavi grabbed Allen, Marie scooped up the struggling inspector, and Chaoji hesitantly approached Kanda Yuu. He was pale but he shook his head, demonstrating that he could walk by breaking into a believably stumbling run. Chaoji frowned but followed him. If they started trailing too far behind, though-

"Trees are bothersome," the second Akuma noted. And then they opened fire.

Whether or not they could be seen, heard, or smelled, they could certainly be shot, and Lavi yelped and made the hammer as big as possible, even with Allen under his other arm like a football. "Go go go!"

It was clear the Akuma were shooting blind. Most of the bullets didn't even come close, but the ones that did kicked up a lot of snow and dirt. A terrific crack sounded to Chaoji's right, sizzling, the unmistakable sound of a mast snapping. A tree coming down. He didn't even bother to look to see in what direction it was going; it didn't matter. When a mast came down you got out of the way, and he grabbed Kanda around the waist, leaping forward. They landed a good twenty yards in front of everyone else, and Chaoji shook his head. _Idiot. I could have caught the tree._

Then it occurred to him that he had just jumped thirty yards. And landed thirty yards away. His knees could take that, but Kanda's, probably not so much.

"I'm sorry-"

But the Japanese man was staring at him like he'd never seen him before. He glanced around at the woods a moment, as if waiting for the Akuma to suddenly realize where they were.

But they didn't. They were moving forward more cautiously, mowing the area down tree by tree.

"Keep going!" the general called from behind them, but Kanda just stood there. He looked . . . shocked.

". . . Kanda . . .?"

Then the samurai began to curse. Violently. He was perhaps fifteen syllables into the most blistering Japanese Chaoji had ever heard before there were a series of pops, and something splashed onto his face.

He jumped back in surprise before he realized the liquid was warm, and then the general was right beside him, and Kanda all but disappeared beneath his traveling cloak.

"Keep moving!"

He touched his face, finding blood on his fingertips, and then Bookman was dragging him along.

"Move, boy!"

The inspector let out a strangled cry somewhere ahead of him, and Marie's voice was tense. "The invocation-"

"I think we're visible now!" Lavi called, as three of the Akuma's bullets seemed suddenly quite a bit closer than before.

"Master, we cannot lead the Akuma to the train-"

Chaoji was dragged along, Bookman's hands were clawlike and surprisingly strong, and ahead of them, the shape of the general was elongated by the way he was carrying Kanda. "When we reach the tracks we should be far enough out!"

"Half a mile!"

Half a mile had never been so long, and when the tracks were in sight, the Akuma were only just behind them.

"Now, Allen!"

But Lavi hadn't had to say anything. Walker was on his feet, Innocence activated, and he swiped it decisively through the air, spattering the snow with blood.

"Cross Grave!"

It was not a technique that would be powerful enough to stop the Akuma, but it did slow them down, and before he knew it Chaoji was being bustled through the Gate onto the Ark.

None of them stopped. The pieces of paper with numbers had been taped to all the doors on the street, they all knew which number signified the new Order headquarters. Bookman released him with a shake, and he kept walking, craning his head over his shoulder to watch Allen stumble through what looked like a cottage door. He and Lavi slammed it behind him, leaning against it for good measure. Allen was breathing hard, but his arm was back on his shoulder, and he wiped some of the blood off his face.

Dumbly, Chaoji imitated him, shocked when his forearm came back smeared.

That blood had been Kanda's, he was sure, but what had happened . . . ?

The trail of people kept moving and he followed, followed them into the gothic, dark lobby. Lights were coming on all around at the commotion, and of course the guard was there, the Gate was always guarded now. Rather than rush to the infirmary Tiedoll had knelt on the cold stone floors, and only Kanda's boots were visible around his cloak. Marie stood beside the general, stonefaced, with what appeared to be an unconscious inspector in his arms.

"General . . ."

"Summon Matron!" It was booming, and Chaoji hesitated, then stepped forward. His feet took him to his general's side, and he forced himself to look.

Their general was cradling Kanda like an infant, supporting his head and torso. His arms hung off his chest at impossible angles, his hips were turned out too widely to be natural. Like his legs were no longer even attached to his body. His eyes were open and staring, but even as Chaoji watched, the left one rolled upwards so that it was almost lost in his skull. Blood was pouring out of his left ear like a tap.

"Arrest them!"

The voice was as sharp as Tiedoll's had been authoritative, but Chaoji was too tired and stunned to flinch. The guard advanced on them quickly, weapons at the ready, and all he could do was stare at them.

This was a nightmare. Any moment now, he was going to wake up in Belgrade and find he had fallen asleep in the train station, and that was why he felt so cold.

If Kanda was dead, it had all been for nothing.

Lavi, however, had not lost his tongue. "Nice nightgown, Leverrier."

"Take them all into custody." Leverrier's voice rang across the lobby, though he was standing on the second floor in his nightshirt and trousers, looking down on the scene. His eyes narrowed. "General Tiedoll."

"Calm down." Bookman was significantly more deferential than Lavi had been. "Many of our party require medical attention-"

The inspector's gaze sharpened further, moving from the completely surrounded Allen Walker to burn right into Chaoji's face.

But it was obvious in a moment who had his attention. His face twisted further, into something unrecognizable, and there was a sudden commotion to the right. Komui pushed past the first line of guards and onlookers before rushing forward, shouting orders, and Leverrier said nothing further, heading immediately for the nearest stairwell.

Chaoji saw his general bow his head further, and heard a whisper he couldn't quite make out.

-x-

**Author's Notes**: Sorry, got a little carried away there. You will notice certain things were not narrated – don't worry, this fight will be covered in gory detail in later chapters. The later chapters are kind of the problem, though, and I'll tell you why.

I can't decide if Kanda's curse is magical or physical. If it's magical, then his brain would heal and he'd retain all the information in the destroyed part and wake up in a week and be . . well, not his happy old self again, but exactly like he was prior to the injury. If it's physical, then the brain would heal like the rest of his body, but all the information in the cells destroyed would still be lost.

And as you can imagine, that would have a pretty profound effect on the rest of the story.

So to solve this problem, I have decided to write two endings. One of them will end positively. One of them will be sad. They will share a lot of the same content, but move in two very different directions. I will identify them by headers in the chapter names – CIM and CIP. (Curse Is Magical or Curse Is Physical.) I will post new chapters two at a time, and they may share content. You can read one or other, or both if you like.

So it's sort of like a Choose Your Own Adventure book, only there's only one choice here – do you think Kanda's curse is only able to heal physical damage, or do you think it's capable of restoring him altogether? (Or if you're like me, you'd read both to see what the differences were. =)

When those chapters go up, I'll explain it again. Sorry about the delay on this one! And the length . . . omg the length . . .


	9. Chapter 9 CIM: Home

Disclaimer in previous chapters. Please see Author's Notes at the end.

**NOTE**: This is a **CIM** (Curse is Magical) chapter. **CIM** supposes a curse can restore beyond what is capable by the human body. Please note that **CIM** and **CIP** chapters **will share some content****.** They will simply move in different directions.

-x-

The guards came to attention immediately, both looking troubled, and the previous focus of their attentions turned at their approach, eyes moving between the two of them as if he could study their expressions. As if he could return their gaze.

Noise Marie had always been like that. In many respects, he was the same as Allen Walker. The world they saw was indescribable to those with simple, perfect vision.

Komui Lee hoped it was more beautiful than this one.

One of the guards tapped his lance on the floor. "Inspector!"

His companion raised a hand, waving down their weapons with a benevolent flick as though he favored them all the time. "Noise Marie." His voice, too, was kind, in a tone he was certain did not fool Marie. "To what do we owe the pleasure?"

The large African man, taller than either of them, took a quick breath from the diaphragm and bobbed his head once in a semblance of a bow. "I wish to beg entrance to master's chambers. He overextended himself, and has not been seen to-"

Komui answered before Leverrier could. "I sent Matron to evaluate him very early this morning." It was another nail in his coffin, a general injuring himself when they all knew an attack could come at any moment. Nor did he want to confirm the young Exorcist's statement in front of the inspector. "She found him in better condition than either of us anticipated. You must have been of great help to him."

Marie cast his eyes downward at the praise. "I fear it was not enough."

"Is that really a fair statement?" Leverrier cocked his head, folding his arms behind him. "To see you standing there uninjured, after facing four level fours, I would assume you to be a very skilled and powerful Exorcist."

Komui gave him a smile he knew the young man heard and adjusted his glasses. The details of the Noah's trap had been given to them by Bookman and Lavi, in part to pay for their freedom from arrest. Not that Leverrier had any hope of continuing the house arrest he had placed all members of the party that had rescued Kanda Yuu, considering their contract with the Bookmen. Allen Walker, Froi Tiedoll, and Kanda himself were still being held under guard; however, and there didn't seem to be much Komui could do about it at present.

As for Kanda, and Leverrier's apprentice Howard Link, neither seemed to mind the guards. One was in a coma, and the other was painfully close. Though Leverrier had shown no outward concern for the young man, whom Bookman had confirmed had received Crow training, his demeanor was changing. He was both more strict and more genial than usual. Offering honey to attract the most flies.

Komui wasn't really sure if that was due to concern or because the lack of Howard Link actually soothed the inspector. He suspected the former, and found it very curious.

"Thank you," Marie responded, bringing Komui's attention to the present once again. "My general, may I see him?"

"When our inquiry is finished," was the vague reply. "I assure you he is being well taken care of."

Marie bowed his head again, clearly disappointed, and the guards looked even more troubled. He was a large but kind man, and denying his pleas to do nothing more than care for his general, who was well loved by the Order, had to be painful for those guards.

Komui made a mental note to suggest a brief delay during the switching of the guard and put a hand on Marie's elbow as the inspector stepped through the door.

Much as they had done for Cross Marian, a large room had been given to Froi Tiedoll, and it contained every luxury reserved for generals. Fruits and spirits, the finest meals Jerry could tempt them with, silken pillows and a feather bed. He had been told that Tiedoll had accepted some food earlier, and asked for nothing more than to see his beloved pupil.

That request had been denied. Which was downright stupid, considering Kanda would be completely oblivious and it wasn't as thought they could work on any stories or lies. Komui had sent hourly updates, but it was apparent by the morning that Kanda had once again survived a lethal injury. His body was continuing to reject pieces of dark matter, requiring constant bandage changes, but his joints were starting to heal. Komui could only assume by their placement that the fragments still in his body were small golems implanted and set to detonate if Kanda escaped the grounds of the mansion Bookman had described.

It was impossible to tell if the one that had been implanted at the base of his skull had been done before or after the Noah or Noahs had discovered Kanda's unique ability to withstand injury.

The room was just as he remembered it, but it was sobering to see the slumped figure of Tiedoll in a chair facing the eastern horizon, back to the door. At their entrance his head of curls turned somewhat, but not enough for them to see even his profile, and he shifted the blanket wrapped around his shoulders. The bed was made but there was an indentation in both the comforter and pillow.

Good. So he had gotten some rest, then

"How are you feeling, general?"

Komui paused at the entrance of the room, giving the sometimes emotional general time to gather himself, but Leverrier paid no mind, moving to sit on the couch directly in front of Tiedoll. The general didn't respond, other than to sniffle, and Komui frowned little and decided to take a seat far enough away to give the man some semblance of privacy and still observe everything.

At least that's what he told himself.

The general looked pale and haggard, and his cheeks were wet with tears. He wasn't sobbing, though, and seemed to be watching twilight approaching, the end of a terrible day of waiting. Nor did he seem ashamed in the slightest to be seen, wrapped in a blanket like the smallest child or oldest man, his feet gathered up on the large cushion of the chair.

He had a tendency to be cold when he had over-extended himself, something Marie knew well. Those that could synchronize one hundred percent or higher, the Criticals, ended up using their Innocence in the same manner Parasitics did. The Innocence relied on the strength of the wielder and drained them accordingly.

And as Leverrier had noted earlier, Tiedoll was no longer a young man. He was the oldest of the surviving generals, beating Cross Marian by just about two months.

"You look tired, general," Leverrier noted. "Have you not had a sufficient chance to rest?"

The general didn't take his gaze off the window. "What can I do for you, inspector?"

Komui tried very hard not to move. For Frio Tiedoll, ignoring a direct question like that was incredibly rude.

Leverrier didn't seem put off in the slightest. "When did the Noah contact you?"

"Four days ago."

"Which Noah?"

Tiedoll gave a passable shrug. "It was an Akuma, a level three. Very polite fellow, all things considered."

The inspector tilted his head. "Why did you not simply destroy him on sight?"

"It asked me not to, and said it had a message for me."

Leverrier raised an eyebrow. "And you believed it?"

"Well, it's never happened before . . ." Tiedoll's tone turned droll. "The addition of a token that belongs to one of my pupils was its proof."

"What token was this?"

"Does it really matter?" The general finally took his gaze off the window, looking directly at the inspector. "The point is that the Noah was aware you were not communicating the previous messages to me and responded accordingly." He turned further, and met Komui's eyes for the first time. "What tokens were sent to _you_, supervisor?"

Komui thinned his lips and clutched his mug a little tighter. He knew this would happen, it was inevitable and he deserved it. Following the inspector's orders was something he had to do. Central had given the order and to move around it would be to take himself out of his current position temporarily, possibly permanently. A disobedient supervisor would not be tolerated. He could protect more of the Exorcists where he was, even if it had cost Kanda time.

Strong, stubborn Kanda had looked so helpless and small, lying on the infirmary bed. Komui was more terrified of what he would see when Kanda woke than he was of Tiedoll. Who, even through the exhaustion, looked ready to summon Art to do away with him altogether.

"Various pieces of his uniform," Leverrier lied silkily. "So you did not know previous to that messenger that your pupil was in the hands of the enemy?"

"Nor did I know the Order was content to leave him there," the general replied blandly, though that burning gaze never left Komui's. "Those tasked with keeping the secret did so."

"And you do not know the identity of the Noah that sent the messenger?"

Tiedoll released Komui and mutely shook his head. It felt like he hadn't breathed the entire time the general had held him in that glare.

"What of the Noah you fought?"

That was simply a guess on their part; neither Lavi nor Bookman had engaged the level fours or entered the mansion, choosing to record the event from a safe distance and protect Link while he wove the incantations to spirit them away. Marie had said it was a voice he did not recognize, but Tiedoll was more likely to have seen a face, and it was probable met more of the Noah than any non-Critical Exorcist.

"He remained in shadow and left fairly early into the fighting. He did not wish to be seen."

So it was an unknown Noah . . . not Skinn Boric, Tyki Mikk, Debito, or Jasdero. That was enlightening. And troubling.

"Did the Noah say anything of note?"

"He is familiar with the hierarchy of the Order, and identified Komui by name." Again the smoldering eyes, and this time Komui chose to look away.

"How flattering."

"What else?" Leverrier crossed his legs, getting comfortable. "Did he recognize anyone else by name?"

Tiedoll took a deep breath, then sighed heavily. "No, I do not know if Kanda-kun gave him information on Exorcists or the Order. Seeing as the Noah sent tokens here I think it's safe to say the Earl is well aware of when and where we moved headquarters, just as he has always been, and possibly our comings and goings. There is little information Yuu could have shared that would cause any more alarm than we should already feel."

Leverrier gave the general an odd smile. "There's no need to defend him." The unspoken yet was louder than the words themselves. "He will be given that chance himself, after he heals and is tested, of course."

Komui narrowed his eyes, unsurprised when Tiedoll also tensed. The general's voice was surprisingly mild when he spoke, however. "You intend to try him for heresy, as you attempted to do with Allen Walker?"

"Allen Walker is in violation of his contract with the Order and the Vatican." It was sharp. "Kanda Yuu may merely be a traitor. The quickest way to find out if he revealed information or even changed sides is to present him with his Innocence and study the reaction. Your presence will of course be required, general, as we will need every available Critical present on the chance that he Falls."

Komui fought to keep his voice level. "I believe we should wait until Kanda has sufficiently recovered. Activation after such a time is bound to-"

"Oh, I have no doubt his synch rate will drop." Leverrier waved it off like it was nothing. "But he may be the only one who can tell us about the Noah he was willing to kill Finders for." His tone was oiled again, as if the anger over Walker had never happened. "Should that Noah become aware that Kanda Yuu survived, he may attack simply to keep his identity a secret. Therefore there is need to hurry."

"If he Falls the Noah's identify goes with him," Tiedoll observed quietly. "Why test him in that manner before you've even spoken with him?" If the news of Kanda killing Finders shocked him, it didn't show.

"And allow Kanda to waste time by lying to us? I'd prefer the brief delay if it means we can trust his words, and if he Falls, he would have lied anyway." Leverrier uncrossed his legs and stood. "I appreciate your cooperation, general. Please make yourself available to my inspectors until such time as the trial begins."

So he did intend to try Kanda for heresy, if not treason.

"How is the young inspector?"

Leverrier looked ever so slightly surprised. "If you are referring to Howard Link, he has yet to regain consciousness from the exertion of trying to prevent Allen Walker from violating his oath."

The general ignored the second half of the reply entirely. "When he does awaken, please give him my thanks. Were it not for his efforts, I do not know how that night would have ended."

The inspector gave a short nod. "Your thanks will in no way affect the information he reports."

Oddly, the general smiled sadly. "You say that as if I have done something for which I should be ashamed, inspector, when I am the only one in this room who has not."

-x-

The morning of the second day of his return, Kanda opened his eyes.

Matron tried not to fuss; the guards were bothersome enough, but as soon as they noticed they would summon Leverrier and only God knew then what would happen to the boy. She so rarely got a chance to treat him, to force him into the rest he needed.

He was so thin. Almost gaunt, and the expressionless eyes that were only half-open did nothing to make him appear anything other than what he was. An injured Exorcist.

She grabbed a thermometer and a cup of water, tucking her clipboard under her arm, and ignored the door as it opened. A scant few minutes, then, before the circus began. No matter what they threatened, she would refuse. Even Kanda could not heal so quickly from such grave injuries, and Komui would back her. They would only delay the inevitable, but even a few hours would be better than none at all.

"Good morning," she greeted him, coming to the side of the bed and setting down the water. His eyes tracked her – so he could see, or at least see the shape of her – and blinked.

"Don't try to move," she cautioned him, inserting the thermometer into his mouth before he could protest. "Your joints haven't fully healed yet."

Surprisingly, he did not eject the thermometer from his mouth, as he was wont to do, and after only a very slight test of his left arm he remained perfectly still. Only his eyes moved, scanning what was visible without turning his head, and Matron gave him a smile.

"You're home," she told him quietly.

The news didn't seem to mean anything to him; his face remained largely expressionless, and while his eyes didn't drift closed, it was pretty clear he was not alert. His pupils were a little dilated but not as badly as she'd feared, and when he swallowed around the thermometer he winced.

His temperature was normal, not elevated, and she traded the glass of mercury for one of water. Again to her surprise, he accepted the water that she held to his lips without protest, nor did he say anything when she took it away after only a few sips. No sense in risking him vomiting, and clearly he could see quite well, he knew what she was doing-

But not speaking. "How sharp is your discomfort?"

He blinked thoughtfully. "It's fine." His voice was hoarse, but pronunciation was clear. He was having no trouble with his motor responses either. "Thank you . . ." It trailed off, though his lips had closed to form the first consonant of her title. He said nothing further, though he seemed suddenly more alert than before, and he looked around again.

Or away from her . . . Matron gave him another smile. "You're welcome. We were all very worried about you, Kanda. Going missing on a mission, not calling in . . . Lenalee was tying herself up in knots."

At the mention of Lenalee his eyes snapped back to hers, but he still said nothing. Probably alarmed at the idea of anyone seeing him yet. "She's not here." Not for lack of trying. "I'm sure she'll visit you soon." As soon as the inspector was finished with him. Still, he could speak, so as long as they didn't keep him awake too long or try to remove him from the ward, she'd have a hard time protesting.

"Do you remember what happened?"

Kanda looked at her for a long time, then away, to the right. "Yes."

"Splendid." A hand came down on her shoulder, which she shrugged off in irritation. The man was ever so quick to respond to the conditions of her patients, yet he had no care at all for their recovery.

"Inspector, he has only just now regained consciousness." She expected to be cut off there, and when she wasn't immediately, she continued. "He is not ready to leave the infirmary yet. Your questions will have to wait."

Inspector Leverrier was studying her patient, who gave him a blank look before glancing back at her, then the guards that had come closer. He had not moved a muscle since that test, and even now he didn't even twitch. He just lay there and let them stare at him.

"Very well," the inspector agreed briskly. "We will return for him in the afternoon. Please prepare a wheelchair if he is unable to walk." There was a measured pause. "Also prepare Allen Walker in a similar manner. I will return both of them to your care when we're finished," he added, as if to mollify her.

Allen Walker was visible, just, around a separator curtain. At first the inspector had forbidden Allen and Kanda to be in the same room, but between Komui and apparently the Bookmen, had finally relented. Prompt medical care was too difficult if every patient was in a different room. Allen was under close supervision, both from Order guards and the inspector's own men, and he was dozing. If he overhead them he wasn't giving it away.

He was fairly banged up and quite tired, and had been bleeding from several wounds, some deeper than others. Though his Innocence protected him from the Akuma blood virus, a bullet was a bullet, and each one was like being shot with a large-caliber gun. None had lodged within him, but they had left their marks in trails along his sides. Nor did he heal as fast as Kanda, and she wasn't any happier about that order than the one regarding Kanda.

"Kanda doesn't have the concentration to focus for a long time, inspector-"

"He need only focus for a few moments." A dismissal if she'd ever heard one. "I shall send for them in a few hours. See that they are rested and prepared."

Kanda let his eyes drift closed, and Matron turned away from him to glare at the inspector. "We shall see what the Supervisor-" But then she cut herself off.

Komui was standing behind Leverrier, expression somber. He met her eyes, then gave a regretful nod. "Please, Matron. We appreciate all your hard work."

Leverrier, for his part, looked faintly triumphant, and very carefully did not cast so much as an eye towards his own apprentice, still deeply asleep, as he swept out of the infirmary with Komui in tow.

Matron watched them go, feeling the lines around her mouth etching more deeply into her face, and held back her sigh. Her anger would only negatively affect her patients, so she smoothed out the wrinkles and turned back to Kanda. His eyes were still closed.

"Please rest, Kanda. I will take good care of you."

He didn't respond.

-x-

The wheelchairs jumped and shuddered as they were rolled over the lip of the elevator and floor, and Allen fidgeted under his lap blanket, giving the people staring at him a bright smile. Kanda was ignoring everyone, eyes on the floor, and Allen took the time to be grateful that this was not like the Tower, and they could not be seen from twelve different floors at once.

The elevator doors were closed behind him, and the rectangular cab descended in a fully enclosed shaft. It made the ride much less chilly, and more private. Quieter.

Despite being next to Kanda, close enough to reach out with his human hand and touch the other Exorcist, he didn't dare. Kanda was bundled up tight in his sweater, with a similar lap blanket thrown over him, and his hands were buried in it. The curtain had been drawn in the infirmary, so he wasn't sure how hard it was for the Exorcist to get into it, but every time the wheelchair jarred him his eyes tightened. Otherwise he didn't do anything at all. Didn't say anything. Didn't look at anyone. Just . .. sat there.

And Allen couldn't really blame him. The inspector hadn't said it outright, but if they were going down, it was either to speak with Central or to see Hevlaska. Since Leverrier had promised them both back to Matron, he sort of doubted he was about to be dragged before Central. If they really meant to try him for heresy, no one would ever see him again. Nor was his arm bound as it had been the first time. So the other option was going to see Hevlaska. And the only reason they could want him along when Kanda was reunited with Mugen was Suman.

If he had acted faster, and sooner, he might have been able to save Suman. Perhaps they hoped that if Kanda had betrayed his Innocence, that he could react in time to prevent the horrible monster that Suman and his Innocence had become.

Or it was because the only other general around was Froi Tiedoll, and it would take the two of them to destroy a Fallen if he could not save the Exorcist inside.

Either way, having such an audience around when he saw his Innocence again . . . at the time, he hadn't cared much himself. He had been so desperate to get his Innocence back, to keep walking forward, and he hardly knew Bak or anyone else in the China branch. Kanda was not that person. Kanda was private. He would not want this fanfare, not want witnesses if it turned out that his Innocence would reject him.

Which it wouldn't. So what if he was quiet. He'd been a prisoner of the Noah for over a month. Through careful peeks between the curtains when he'd gotten his bandages changed, Allen had seen that Kanda's chest was covered in black, and he was afraid he knew why. Kanda's tattoo had grown bigger on the Ark, when he'd fought a Noah. It didn't take a scientist to tell him what it might mean to see the tattoo had grown again.

Much larger than before.

He wanted to say something. Thank Kanda for being alive. Apologize for making him wait so long, suffering so much. But this was not the Tower; it didn't go down into the earth forever, and the elevator ride was too short. Long before he found the right words the elevator slowed, then the doors were pulled open with a clatter and they were being backed out. Again, as the wheelchair rumbled over the joint of cab and floor Kanda's head nodded forward, his pain obvious, yet he didn't snap at the guard to be more gentle. He simply bore it.

Allen was turned around and pushed forward, losing sight of Kanda and looking at the basement for the first time. Gone was the expansive ceiling, the room for Hevlaska to move around. Now there were narrow, dark catacombs. His mind automatically catalogued the cool temperatures as perfect for wine storage. The ceilings were not particularly high, and once again Allen wondered if perhaps they were making a stop at a dungeon after all.

Maybe the inspector had lied to Matron. Maybe they _were_ going to just disappear.

He was wheeled through the chilly darkness for about a hundred yards, then took a sharp right turn into what had once been a cheese-aging cave. The smell of the mold was sharp as they trundled over a smooth-worn trail into a huge expanse of natural rock. Hevlaska was visible, glowing gently as usual, and the Cube was visible within her. She was curled around a huge rock outcropping like a dragon of lore, and there was a small group of people in front of her.

Komui. Leverrier. Tiedoll. And about a dozen guards, all armed.

So his guess was correct. They were afraid Kanda was going to Fall.

He was taken off the side, and Tiedoll gave him a quick, reassuring smile as the guard pushing him locked the brake. Most of the general's attention was on his pupil, however, and Komui came to stand beside him.

"How is it, Allen?"

"I'm fine." He stretched, then carefully got to his feet.

"Ne, Allen -!"

"It's fine," he repeated with a forced smile. "Matron won't let me get up at all, and I want to stretch my legs."

"She'll have my head if you come back with so much as a scratch."

"I won't," he said, loudly enough that he could be sure the silent Exorcist in the wheelchair could hear. "I'm glad Mugen will be returned to him, though. I don't think his Innocence liked me very much."

"Really?" It was the first hint of real curiosity in Komui's voice, and it warmed Allen, somehow. That there were still facets of Innocence that the scientists didn't understand.

"Returned?" Leverrier's voice was louder still, echoing in the vast chamber. "This is merely to see if he is still capable of activation. If he answers Central's questions to their satisfaction, the Innocence _may _be reassigned to him later."

Allen glowered at the inspector, turning at a sharp exhale to see Kanda trying to push himself up out of the wheelchair. The guards did not move forward to help him, nor did his general, and Allen glanced at them in shock before starting forward. A steel hand on his wrist stopped him; it was Komui, and he silently shook his head.

No one had told Kanda to stand. He could have been handed his Innocence seated. It was his choice to face this test as he wished. Tiedoll had not moved a muscle, watching with his eyes hidden behind the glare of Hevlaska, and Allen bit his bottom lip.

Kanda took his feet stiffly, but he didn't fall, and with slow, shuffling steps he walked towards Hevlaska. She lowered her face to better meet him eye to eye, and in two of her glowing appendages she offered a sword in a black saya.

Mugen.

"You need not activate for me to-"

"Kanda Yuu." Even Leverrier's echo seemed intent on smothering Hevlaska's softer voice. "Allen Walker returned your Innocence to Hevlaska just over six weeks ago. It has not reverted to its original shape, meaning it has not chosen a new wielder nor rejected you as its accommodator. However, if you have betrayed the Order or God, that Innocence will mete out your punishment. You will die."

Kanda stopped only a few feet from Hevlaska, eyes not on the ground but Mugen. It was impossible to tell in profile what his expression might be, but at Leverrier's words his hands curled into fists.

"In a moment I will require you to take up your Innocence, and to invocate. Is there anything you would like to say before I give you your orders?"

Could he order something like that? Allen glanced questioningly at Komui, but he hadn't let go of his wrist, and his fingers were only getting tighter.

Kanda didn't say anything at all, and Hevlaska hesitated, then offered Mugen in a manner Allen recognized as highly ceremonial, holding it only just by the saya and hilt. She bowed her head low, and Kanda haltingly imitated her before reaching out. The sword rattled in its sheath as he took the weight of it, and continued to do so when he grasped the hilt as if to draw it.

Komui made a quiet noise, releasing Allen's wrist. "Inspector-"

"Activate your Innocence, Kanda Yuu. And make no mistake, should you attack Hevlaska, or anyone here, you will be cut down."

Tiedoll clasped his hands behind him, rather than anywhere near his Innocence, and Allen wasn't sure if it was to reassure them or his pupil. Kanda never looked his way, though, he didn't look at any of them. He stared hard at the sword in his hands, still audibly shaking, and then he slowly pulled the blade free. Mugen glinted in Hevlaska's light, and while the hand holding the saya continued to shake, Mugen's blade was steady.

His training would not allow his sword arm to tremble. Nor his voice. "Mugen."

He didn't command it to activate; his Innocence glowed at once, blue and brilliant. Nothing else seemed to happen, and Allen forced himself to keep breathing steadily. Nothing was going to happen. Kanda was only shaking because his arms had nearly been ripped off his body two days ago. That was all.

Hevlaska wrapped her appendages around him, lifting him into the air, and he met her forehead halfway.

"Four percent," she said at once. "Nine percent. Sixteen percent. Twenty-three percent. Twenty-nine percent. Thirty-five percent. Forty-two percent. Forty-seven percent." She stopped there, setting Kanda back onto his feet, and Allen blinked. Why had she stopped? Kanda's synch rate was at least in the eighties if not higher. He had increased it by leaps and bounds before Edo, and had only seemed to be getting stronger after-

"Forty-seven percent," Leverrier repeated. "What was it when you last saw him, Hevlaska?"

Her voice was troubled. "Eighty-nine percent."

The inspector turned to them, and Allen tried very hard to ignore him. "What does that mean?"

Komui cleared his throat as Kanda sheathed his Innocence. "It's common for an Exorcist's synch rate to drop after a prolonged absence from his or her Innocence."

"Is it common for the rate to be halved?"

There was authority in Komui's voice when he replied, but it seemed forced. "The synch rate fluctuates based on changes to both the Innocence and accommodator. I would wager that within a week of Kanda's training with Mugen that number would rise quickly."

"I am afraid we cannot risk leaving such a valuable piece of Innocence in his possession until we can determine the extent of his 'changes.' Hevlaska, return Mugen to your body."

Kanda was holding the sword as if he was about to hang it on hooks on the wall, staring at it intently as if listening to something. Hevlaska's touch was hesitant, and despite her transparent limbs enveloping it much as he had taken it from her, he did not immediately let go.

The inspector noticed, and there was a collective rattle, amplified a hundred times, as the guards readied their weapons. "Kanda Yuu, relinquish that Innocence."

Like it wasn't even his. Allen unconsciously wrapped his right hand around his left arm, holding it close.

Abruptly Mugen flashed, and before Allen could even make out what had happened the sword was high in the air, cuddled to Hevlaska's body, and Kanda was clutching his chest. He stumbled back a step, eyes and mouth wide open, and a strange sympathetic throb ran up and down Allen's left arm. Tiedoll, too, unclasped his hands quickly and took a step to steady himself, and a wind came from nowhere and everywhere at once.

The guards rushed forward, but stopped at a wave from Leverrier. "Hevlaska!"

"It is fine," she said absently, staring at the now-dark sword, half pressed into her body. "It was simply a reaction, not a rejection."

"A reaction to what?" Komui sounded nearly as worried as Leverrier.

Hevlaska shook her head, and Allen imagined if they could see her eyes, they would be wide. It almost seemed as if she was in pain. "I do not know."

Allen glanced back at Kanda, then darted forward before Komui or the guards could stop him. Kanda was looking at the hand he had pressed to his chest, and it was dark with blood. Behind him, he heard the general start forward as well, and despite the ache in his side he hurried, lest he be stopped. Kanda didn't seem unsteady on his feet, and he put his hand to his chest again before seeming to tug something free.

Allen's eye twitched, but didn't activate, and he skidded to a stop between the confused guards, ignoring a harsh command from the inspector. "Kanda-!"

The other Exorcist was holding what looked like a shard of blood. Dark matter, Allen realized with a start. A piece of whatever had been put inside him that had exploded. His Innocence had reacted to it as his body rejected it. For a moment Kanda seemed to be looking past it, and Tiedoll appeared at once beside Allen. He came to the same conclusion immediately, and his voice was kind.

"Kanda-kun, why don't you give that to Allen?"

Allen almost choked.

Automatically, Kanda held out the bloody shard, and Allen balked before he realized what the other general meant. He hastily tugged the glove off his left hand, and Kanda briefly met his eyes as he took it. His left hand closed around it almost instinctively, squeezing, and there was a painful tightening and a brief flash before his Innocence had destroyed it utterly.

No one missed the similarity, and Allen stared at his Innocence for a moment. While the shard was gone, not even so much as dust, Kanda's blood was still there on his palm.

"Is that sufficient, inspector?" Tiedoll murmured coolly, and Allen dropped his hand, flexing it a couple times to work out the tight feeling.

Could he do that with any dark matter? Could he grasp an Akuma and disintegrate it like a Noah could disintegrate Innocence? What would happen to the soul trapped inside?

"His Innocence clearly did not reject him." Komui was unusually serious. "He's bleeding and shouldn't be standing at all." He turned his head to the guards. "Escort him back to the infirmary. Allen as well."

Allen glanced up at him. "But-"

The guards would have none of it, and Leverrier's bright eyes were on them both as he and Kanda were all but pushed back into what amounted to adult strollers. The other Exorcist didn't say anything, didn't look back at Hevlaska, didn't even bid goodbye to his general, but Allen craned his neck around, watching Tiedoll, Komui, and Leverrier start speaking in hushed voices.

-x-

**Author's Notes**: I . . . have none, actually. We didn't get to see a whole lot of emotion regarding Kanda, which I know you folks are craving, but it'll be coming, trust me. And I expect a few of you are wondering about Komui. His reaction will be explained as well in upcoming chapters. I hope the new format hasn't confused anyone, and I will be posting the CIP chapter shortly.


	10. Chapter 9 CIP: Home

Disclaimer in previous chapters. Please see Author's Notes at the end.

**NOTE**: This is a **CIP** (Curse is Physical) chapter. **CIP** supposes a curse can accelerate the normal healing capabilities of the human body, but not surpass them. Please note that **CIM** and **CIP** chapters **will share some content****.** They will simply move in different directions.

-x-

The guards came to attention immediately, both looking troubled, and the previous focus of their attentions turned at their approach, eyes moving between the two of them as if he could study their expressions. As if he could return their gaze.

Noise Marie had always been like that. In many respects, he was the same as Allen Walker. The world they saw was indescribable to those with simple, perfect vision.

Komui Lee hoped it was more beautiful than this one.

One of the guards tapped his lance on the floor. "Inspector!"

His companion raised a hand, waving down their weapons with a benevolent flick as though he favored them all the time. "Noise Marie." His voice, too, was kind, in a tone he was certain did not fool Marie. "To what do we owe the pleasure?"

The large African man, taller than either of them, took a quick breath from the diaphragm and bobbed his head once in a semblance of a bow. "I wish to beg entrance to master's chambers. He overextended himself, and has not been seen to-"

Komui answered before Leverrier could. "I sent Matron to evaluate him very early this morning." It was another nail in his coffin, a general injuring himself when they all knew an attack could come at any moment. Nor did he want to confirm the young Exorcist's statement in front of the inspector. "She found him in better condition than either of us anticipated. You must have been of great help to him."

Marie cast his eyes downward at the praise. "I fear it was not enough."

"Is that really a fair statement?" Leverrier cocked his head, folding his arms behind him. "To see you standing there uninjured, after facing four level fours, I would assume you to be a very skilled and powerful Exorcist."

Komui gave him a smile he knew the young man heard and adjusted his glasses. The details of the Noah's trap had been given to them by Bookman and Lavi, in part to pay for their freedom from arrest. Not that Leverrier had any hope of continuing the house arrest he had placed all members of the party that had rescued Kanda Yuu, considering their contract with the Bookmen. Allen Walker, Froi Tiedoll, and Kanda himself were still being held under guard; however, and there didn't seem to be much Komui could do about it at present.

As for Kanda, and Leverrier's apprentice Howard Link, neither seemed to mind the guards. One was in a coma, and the other was painfully close. Though Leverrier had shown no outward concern for the young man, whom Bookman had confirmed had received Crow training, his demeanor was changing. He was both more strict and more genial than usual. Offering honey to attract the most flies.

Komui wasn't really sure if that was due to concern or because the lack of Howard Link actually soothed the inspector. He suspected the former, and found it very curious.

"Thank you," Marie responded, bringing Komui's attention to the present once again. "My general, may I see him?"

"When our inquiry is finished," was the vague reply. "I assure you he is being well taken care of."

Marie bowed his head again, clearly disappointed, and the guards looked even more troubled. He was a large but kind man, and denying his pleas to do nothing more than care for his general, who was well loved by the Order, had to be painful for those guards.

Komui made a mental note to suggest a brief delay during the switching of the guard and put a hand on Marie's elbow as the inspector stepped through the door.

Much as they had done for Cross Marian, a large room had been given to Froi Tiedoll, and it contained every luxury reserved for generals. Fruits and spirits, the finest meals Jerry could tempt them with, silken pillows and a feather bed. He had been told that Tiedoll had accepted some food earlier, and asked for nothing more than to see his beloved pupil.

That request had been denied. Which was downright stupid, considering Kanda would be completely oblivious and it wasn't as thought they could work on any stories or lies. Komui had sent hourly updates, but it was apparent by the morning that Kanda had once again survived a lethal injury. His body was continuing to reject pieces of dark matter, requiring constant bandage changes, but his joints were starting to heal. Komui could only assume by their placement that the fragments still in his body were small golems implanted and set to detonate if Kanda escaped the grounds of the mansion Bookman had described.

It was impossible to tell if the one that had been implanted at the base of his skull had been done before or after the Noah or Noahs had discovered Kanda's unique ability to withstand injury.

The room was just as he remembered it, but it was sobering to see the slumped figure of Tiedoll in a chair facing the eastern horizon, back to the door. At their entrance his head of curls turned somewhat, but not enough for them to see even his profile, and he shifted the blanket wrapped around his shoulders. The bed was made but there was an indentation in both the comforter and pillow.

Good. So he had gotten some rest, then

"How are you feeling, general?"

Komui paused at the entrance of the room, giving the sometimes emotional general time to gather himself, but Leverrier paid no mind, moving to sit on the couch directly in front of Tiedoll. The general didn't respond, other than to sniffle, and Komui frowned little and decided to take a seat far enough away to give the man some semblance of privacy and still observe everything.

At least that's what he told himself.

The general looked pale and haggard, and his cheeks were wet with tears. He wasn't sobbing, though, and seemed to be watching twilight approaching, the end of a terrible day of waiting. Nor did he seem ashamed in the slightest to be seen, wrapped in a blanket like the smallest child or oldest man, his feet gathered up on the large cushion of the chair.

He had a tendency to be cold when he had over-extended himself, something Marie knew well. Those that could synchronize one hundred percent or higher, the Criticals, ended up using their Innocence in the same manner Parasitics did. The Innocence relied on the strength of the wielder and drained them accordingly.

And as Leverrier had noted earlier, Tiedoll was no longer a young man. He was the oldest of the surviving generals, beating Cross Marian by just about two months.

"You look tired, general," Leverrier noted. "Have you not had a sufficient chance to rest?"

The general didn't take his gaze off the window. "What can I do for you, inspector?"

Komui tried very hard not to move. For Frio Tiedoll, ignoring a direct question like that was incredibly rude.

Leverrier didn't seem put off in the slightest. "When did the Noah contact you?"

"Four days ago."

"Which Noah?"

Tiedoll gave a passable shrug. "It was an Akuma, a level three. Very polite fellow, all things considered."

The inspector tilted his head. "Why did you not simply destroy him on sight?"

"It asked me not to, and said it had a message for me."

Leverrier raised an eyebrow. "And you believed it?"

"Well, it's never happened before . . ." Tiedoll's tone turned droll. "The addition of a token that belongs to one of my pupils was its proof."

"What token was this?"

"Does it really matter?" The general finally took his gaze off the window, looking directly at the inspector. "The point is that the Noah was aware you were not communicating the previous messages to me and responded accordingly." He turned further, and met Komui's eyes for the first time. "What tokens were sent to _you_, supervisor?"

Komui thinned his lips and clutched his mug a little tighter. He knew this would happen, it was inevitable and he deserved it. Following the inspector's orders was something he had to do. Central had given the order and to move around it would be to take himself out of his current position temporarily, possibly permanently. A disobedient supervisor would not be tolerated. He could protect more of the Exorcists where he was, even if it had cost Kanda time.

Strong, stubborn Kanda had looked so helpless and small, lying on the infirmary bed. Komui was more terrified of what he would see when Kanda woke than he was of Tiedoll. Who, even through the exhaustion, looked ready to summon Art to do away with him altogether.

"Various pieces of his uniform," Leverrier lied silkily. "So you did not know previous to that messenger that your pupil was in the hands of the enemy?"

"Nor did I know the Order was content to leave him there," the general replied blandly, though that burning gaze never left Komui's. "Those tasked with keeping the secret did so."

"And you do not know the identity of the Noah that sent the messenger?"

Tiedoll released Komui and mutely shook his head. It felt like he hadn't breathed the entire time the general had held him in that glare.

"What of the Noah you fought?"

That was simply a guess on their part; neither Lavi nor Bookman had engaged the level fours or entered the mansion, choosing to record the event from a safe distance and protect Link while he wove the incantations to spirit them away. Marie had said it was a voice he did not recognize, but Tiedoll was more likely to have seen a face, and it was probable met more of the Noah than any non-Critical Exorcist.

"He remained in shadow and left fairly early into the fighting. He did not wish to be seen."

So it was an unknown Noah . . . not Skinn Boric, Tyki Mikk, Debito, or Jasdero. That was enlightening. And troubling.

"Did the Noah say anything of note?"

"He is familiar with the hierarchy of the Order, and identified Komui by name." Again the smoldering eyes, and this time Komui chose to look away.

"How flattering."

"What else?" Leverrier crossed his legs, getting comfortable. "Did he recognize anyone else by name?"

Tiedoll took a deep breath, then sighed heavily. "No, I do not know if Kanda-kun gave him information on Exorcists or the Order. Seeing as the Noah sent tokens here I think it's safe to say the Earl is well aware of when and where we moved headquarters, just as he has always been, and possibly our comings and goings. There is little information Yuu could have shared that would cause any more alarm than we should already feel."

Leverrier gave the general an odd smile. "There's no need to defend him." The unspoken yet was louder than the words themselves. "He will be given that chance himself, after he heals and is tested, of course."

Komui narrowed his eyes, unsurprised when Tiedoll also tensed. The general's voice was surprisingly mild when he spoke, however. "You intend to try him for heresy, as you attempted to do with Allen Walker?"

"Allen Walker is in violation of his contract with the Order and the Vatican." It was sharp. "Kanda Yuu may merely be a traitor. The quickest way to find out if he revealed information or even changed sides is to present him with his Innocence and study the reaction. Your presence will of course be required, general, as we will need every available Critical present on the chance that he Falls."

Komui fought to keep his voice level. "I believe we should wait until Kanda has sufficiently recovered. Activation after such a time is bound to-"

"Oh, I have no doubt his synch rate will drop." Leverrier waved it off like it was nothing. "But he may be the only one who can tell us about the Noah he was willing to kill Finders for." His tone was oiled again, as if the anger over Walker had never happened. "Should that Noah become aware that Kanda Yuu survived, he may attack simply to keep his identity a secret. Therefore there is need to hurry."

"If he Falls the Noah's identify goes with him," Tiedoll observed quietly. "Why test him in that manner before you've even spoken with him?" If the news of Kanda killing Finders shocked him, it didn't show.

"And allow Kanda to waste time by lying to us? I'd prefer the brief delay if it means we can trust his words, and if he Falls, he would have lied anyway." Leverrier uncrossed his legs and stood. "I appreciate your cooperation, general. Please make yourself available to my inspectors until such time as the trial begins."

So he did intend to try Kanda for heresy, if not treason.

"How is the young inspector?"

Leverrier looked ever so slightly surprised. "If you are referring to Howard Link, he has yet to regain consciousness from the exertion of trying to prevent Allen Walker from violating his oath."

The general ignored the second half of the reply entirely. "When he does awaken, please give him my thanks. Were it not for his efforts, I do not know how that night would have ended."

The inspector gave a short nod. "Your thanks will in no way affect the information he reports."

Oddly, the general smiled sadly. "You say that as if I have done something for which I should be ashamed, inspector, when I am the only one in this room who has not."

-x-

The morning of the second day of his return, Kanda opened his eyes.

Matron tried not to fuss; the guards were bothersome enough, but as soon as they noticed they would summon Leverrier and only God knew then what would happen to the boy. She so rarely got a chance to treat him, to force him into the rest he needed.

He was so thin. Almost gaunt, and the expressionless eyes that were only half-open did nothing to make him appear anything other than what he was. An injured Exorcist.

But he sabotaged her subtle gathering of her clipboard by whimpering, low in his throat, and before she could stop him, he moved his arm.

The whimper became a scream, confused and unarticulated, and then she was by his side, struggling to pin his wrists, the only joints in his arms that were not damaged. "Kanda!"

His eyes were open but it was clear he was not alert; they were bright with pain, and didn't focus on her very well at all. As soon as his arms were pinned he thrashed violently and uncoordinatedly, and his screams rose in pitch and volume.

A waking nightmare, perhaps? "Nurse! Sedative!" Despite the fact it would slow his healing, it would be easier on his battered body than a physical restraint. The guards had jumped at his sudden outburst and now were milling on the edge of her vision, and Allen Walker, who had been dozing, had sat bolt upright in bed. Howard Link was mercifully still asleep.

"Kanda, calm down!" she tried again, loudly but soothingly. "Can you hear me?"

He shook his head awkwardly from side to side, which elicited a new scream, but she couldn't tell if it was in reaction to her voice or not.

"Kanda, if you stop moving it will stop hurting."

He didn't. If anything, pinning him had increased his struggles, and as clumsy as his movements were, they did not lack strength. It was far too long before Lydia had managed to get a needle into his IV line. When he felt the drugs his eyes widened and he let loose with a wail of fear, renewing his struggles momentarily before it took hold. Because of his abnormal resistance to chemicals, both healing and otherwise, Lydia had given him quite a bit of it, and she looked almost as startled as he did when it did not have an immediate effect. But then he choked a little on saliva as he sucked in a deep breath, and then his eyelids drooped, and his body relaxed beneath her. In another moment his head rolled into a deep indention of his pillow, and she felt it was safe to let him go.

Lydia took a breath, and the first syllable of her sentence squeaked. "Matron . . . what should we do?"

There wasn't much to do besides let him heal and wake again. "We shall better manage his pain." The narcotics would take him a while to sleep off. "I am sure that is what woke him." She took a deep breath, giving Walker a strong glare as his hand toyed with the edge of his blanket. "And you will stay right where you are!"

When he woke again, four hours later, Matron herself administered the chemical restraint, her mouth pressed in a tight line. Her patient was panting with exertion, not focused on anything, and his movements were no more coordinated than before.

"Summon Komui."

-x-

Leverrier set down his teacup, watching the smallest particles of tea leaves, escapees of the strainer. They swirled into almost a question mark one moment, and a sand bar the next, then back again.

It was easy to see why the Asians, locked in their huts with nothing better to do than drink tea, had divined that tea leaves could tell the future. In a way, they were. Showing him questions and the walls that were preventing their answers.

"There was no improvement?"

Matron shook her head, her hands twisting in her uniform. "His pain seemed to be under better control, but he would not focus on my pen, nor would he respond to verbal commands."

"What is your diagnosis at this point?" Going over the exorcist's many symptoms was all well and good, but at some point they needed to reach a consensus on his ability to testify in his own defense. And also a way to determine if any useful information could be mined from him, if he truly was permanently damaged. "Is he or is he not healed?"

The woman glared at him disapprovingly, which he ignored, sipping his tea. "The fact that he can move and has regained consciousness, coupled with the condition of his joints . . ." She seemed at a loss for words, and turned to Komui as if looking for help. "He has had head injuries before, but none to this extent."

The supervisor was staring at the lump sugar in the center of the table, five of which had been deposited into that ridiculous mug of coffee. "It's possible . . ." Leverrier gave him time to work it out. "Kanda . . . he heals abnormally quickly. But the human body is only capable of so much."

"Are you saying the damage done to him was too great to heal?"

The supervisor winced, again trying to find a way to hide information from him without blatantly lying, and Leverrier let him work it out. Direct questions would be answered, no matter the verbal dance. He was either permanently crippled or he would recover. Neither was acceptable in the short term.

"The human body can create new cells, but not repair those that have been too badly damaged. Memories . . . they are simply electrical impulses stored inside of nerve cells. Each one is unique. It's not that he hasn't healed, but it may be that his body replaced those nerve cells with new cells. Those cells won't have the imprint of his memories."

How unfortunate. "So you claim his memory is gone."

Komui lifted his shoulders. "I couldn't begin to say that, inspector. But perhaps certain memories . . . it may be that he can see but he doesn't remember who he's looking at. Or that he has forgotten English, and could not understand Matron when she was speaking to him. He may have lost years, he may recognize none of us. Or he may know exactly who we are and where he is, but forgotten how to speak."

"Or it could all be an act." It seemed like such an obvious answer that he couldn't really understand their dumbfounded looks. "The Noah's intent was to cripple him to prevent his escape, wasn't it? He cannot escape here either, not with such chains around him. Convincing us there is nothing to learn from him is his only option for keeping secrets."

Not that it would help. Pain was pain, and he could only suffer so much of it before the act was broken. If he did not speak again despite thorough questioning, then no harm done.

"Inspector-" It was just a breath, as though he had blasphemed, and Komui looked just as taken aback.

"I have known Kanda Yuu for years, inspector. He is not capable of that level of dramatics."

Leverrier raised an eyebrow at the tone. So certain. "How can you be sure?"

The supervisor straightened his glasses, clearly trying for his composure. "Because Allen Walker was in the room."

Leverrier blinked. "Are you saying he was responding to the Noah in the room?"

"Kanda Yuu and Allen Walker have not gotten along since they met." Komui apparently thought this was obvious. "To pretend to lose his memory would be to admit a weakness. It is not in his character."

"His character could have changed quite a bit in the last six weeks, supervisor." He set down the teacup. "However, act or truth, the issue does not change our timetable."

Matron gaped at him. "But the boy cannot be questioned in this condition, inspector-"

He gave them both a smile. "Then we will alter his condition. It only needs to be temporary."

The supervisor sorted out his meaning in only a moment. "Miranda's Innocence is miraculous, it's true, but there's no guarantee it will restore his memories."

"Oh? Does it not return any object to its best possible condition? Or are you suggesting that Kanda Yuu, in the seconds before suffering his grievous injuries, was not in his best possible state?"

The supervisor fought to find another avenue of protest. "Having Kanda activate while under the influence of Miranda's Innocence could be extremely dangerous for them both."

If he Fell, that was likely true. "I don't see any need for that to concern us. We must merely hand him the Innocence, Hevlaska can determine his synch rate without activation if necessary." No, that wasn't the problem. "Summon her at once, and bind her to secrecy." Then another thought occurred to him. "She doesn't have to be in contact with what she's holding in Time Record, does she?" They could always make her sit outside in the hall.

Komui looked outraged. "That Exorcist is in no condition to be tested in this manner, inspector."

"How certain are you that Kanda's condition will be conveyed properly to the Noah that tried to kill him?" Was all urgency lost to this man? "Do you suppose that Noah will stop and wonder if Kanda remembers enough to reveal him to us before this headquarters is attacked? No, the need for alacrity in this matter has not diminished in the least. If he is truly physically healed, have him taken to Hevlaska's chambers at once."

"I did not say he was healed-"

He cut her off with a wave, like an orchestra's conductor. "He is healed enough. Bring Allen Walker as well. As he and Froi Tiedoll are the only two Criticals currently accessible, we will need them there should Kanda have betrayed us."

Komui knew better than to challenge him outright, but his voice was hard. "You would have him undergo this test without understanding the consequences?"

"It is not my will that would find him guilty, supervisor." He drained the tea and set the cup down delicately. "I leave this in the hands of God."

Komui got up without another word and left the room. After a moment and some muttering under her breath, the Matron did the same, and he sighed lightly into the empty room.

-x-

Allen had learned a long time ago that he hated to be stared at. With Mana at the circus, he had seen all manner of freaks, been treated like one, and sworn that he would never do the same to another creature, human or animal.

Still, it was hard not to study his fellow Exorcist as they were wheeled into the elevator, and Allen took the time to be grateful that this was not like the Tower, and they could not be seen from twelve different floors at once.

The wheelchair jumped and shuddered as it was pushed over the lip of the elevator and Kanda moaned, pulling at the restrains that held his arms to the armrests, hidden by the lap blanket that had been thrown over him. He was heavily drugged, his head lolling and his eyes slow and heavy, and Allen bit his lip before he reached over with his human hand to take Kanda's.

"I know it hurts. I'm sorry," he said softly, and the Japanese man glanced down at his hand, momentarily distracted as the doors clattered shut behind them, and the rectangular cab descended in a fully enclosed shaft. It made the ride much less chilly, and more private. Quieter.

The sudden drop didn't seem to alarm Kanda overly, which made Allen wonder just how dizzy he was. How much he was aware of. If he ever remembered this he would probably come for Allen with Mugen and he would welcome that attack with a smile and a laugh.

The first time Kanda had woken Allen figured it was a night terror. The second, that he was too drugged to know what was going on. But it was becoming clearer with each passing hour that Kanda had not bounced back from this intact. Through careful peeks between the curtains when he'd gotten his bandages changed, Allen had seen that Kanda's chest was covered in black, and he was afraid he knew why. Kanda's tattoo had grown bigger on the Ark, when he'd fought a Noah. It didn't take a scientist to tell him what it might mean to see the tattoo had grown again.

Much larger than before.

Perhaps the boy's miraculous healing could only go so far.

In a way, though, it was a relief. The inspector hadn't said it outright, but if they were going down, it was either to speak with Central or to see Hevlaska. Since Leverrier had promised them both back to Matron, Allen sort of doubted he was about to be dragged before Central. If they really meant to try him for heresy, no one would ever see him again. Nor was his arm bound as it had been the first time. So the other option was going to see Hevlaska. And the only reason they could want him along when Kanda was reunited with Mugen, especially in this condition, was Suman.

If he had acted faster, and sooner, he might have been able to save Suman. Perhaps they hoped that if Kanda had betrayed his Innocence, that he could react in time to prevent the horrible monster that Suman and his Innocence had become.

Or it was because the only other general around was Froi Tiedoll, and it would take the two of them to destroy a Fallen if he could not save the Exorcist inside. Even a Fallen who didn't seem to know what was going on around him.

Allen squeezed Kanda's hand lightly, looking for a reaction. The other man stared as if fascinated, but when the elevator slowed he picked up his head, and then the doors were pulled open with a clatter and they were being backed out. Again, as the wheelchair rumbled over the joint of cab and floor Kanda cried out in alarm, low and guttural in his throat.

Allen was turned around and pushed forward, losing sight of Kanda and looking at the basement for the first time. Gone was the expansive ceiling, the room for Hevlaska to move around. Now there were narrow, dark catacombs. His mind automatically catalogued the cool temperatures as perfect for wine storage. The ceilings were not particularly high, and once again Allen wondered if perhaps they were making a stop at a dungeon after all.

Maybe the inspector had lied to Matron. Maybe they _were_ going to just disappear.

He was wheeled through the chilly darkness for about a hundred yards, then took a sharp right turn into what had once been a cheese-aging cave. The smell of the mold was sharp as they trundled over a smooth-worn trail into a huge expanse of natural rock. Hevlaska was visible, glowing gently as usual, and the Cube was visible within her. She was curled around a huge rock outcropping like a dragon of lore, and there was a small group of people in front of her.

Komui. Leverrier. Tiedoll. And about a dozen guards, all armed.

So his guess was correct. They were afraid Kanda was going to Fall.

He was taken off the side, and Tiedoll gave him a quick, reassuring smile as the guard pushing him locked the brake. Most of the general's attention was on his pupil, however, and Komui came to stand beside him.

"How is it, Allen?"

"I'm fine." He stretched, then carefully got to his feet.

"Ne, Allen, don't overdo it -!"

"It's fine," he repeated with a forced smile. "Matron won't let me get up at all, and I want to stretch my legs."

"She'll have my head if you come back with so much as a scratch."

He wanted to respond with a smart remark, but none came to mind. "Is this . . . all right?" He said it in a low voice, so it would not carry to the inspector, who was staring at Kanda as if he could see through him. "Kanda, he-"

"He'll be fine, Allen-kun." Komui's voice was equally soft. "I know this is frightening, but please bear with it."

Frightening? "It's disgusting," he said, loudly enough to carry to the inspector. It wasn't as if he could get into any more trouble. "None of this is Kanda's fault-"

"No one said it was." Komui cut off further protest with a look, as serious as he'd ever seen. "Hevlaska won't hurt him. The sooner this is done the sooner Kanda can be returned to Matron."

The sooner Kanda could be returned to somewhere he felt safe. And their yelling about it would certainly not put him anymore at ease. Despite Kanda's obvious trepidation, even as he was pushed closer and closer to Hevlaska, Tiedoll didn't move a muscle. He stood there, eyes fully hidden by Hevlaska's glow, as the guards hastily unwound the canvas holding his arms to the wheelchair.

As soon as he was released Kanda of course tried to get up, but he was far too uncoordinated, and his legs were still secured to the chair. Hevlaska moved closer to him, tilting her head, and he abruptly stilled, staring at her with wide eyes. Like a sleepy child, he blinked slowly, but didn't move again. Beside Allen, Tiedoll took a quick breath.

"Kanda Yuu." Even Leverrier's sharp voice didn't bother him. It was as if he didn't recognize his own name. "Allen Walker returned your Innocence to Hevlaska just over six weeks ago. It has not reverted to its original shape, meaning it has not chosen a new wielder nor rejected you as its accommodator. However, if you have betrayed the Order or God, that Innocence will mete out your punishment. You will die."

The Exorcist reached upward awkwardly, and Allen was shocked to see that he was reaching for Mugen, which was being cradled reverently in Hevlaska's many appendages.

"Do you recognize Mugen, Kanda?" she asked kindly, and the Exorcist made an odd grunting noise, his reaching becoming more emphatic. Hevlaska hesitated, then offered Mugen in a manner Allen recognized as highly ceremonial, holding it only just by the saya and hilt. She bowed her head low, and Kanda reached out with both hands in the first smooth gesture Allen had seen from him.

He was suddenly Kanda Yuu. Unhesitatingly he grasped the saya and hilt, without a trace of his former clumsiness, and it was unsheathed in an instant.

Tiedoll moved forward immediately. "Kanda, be careful-"

"Moogen." It was drawn out and distorted but still recognizable, and the katana responded at once, glowing blue and brilliant.

Nothing else seemed to happen, and Allen forced himself to keep breathing steadily. Nothing was going to happen. He was not going to Fall. Maybe Mugen would restore his memories just as Crown Clown had replaced that hole in his heart.

Then Kanda laughed in delight and executed a perfect cut, directly at Hevlaska's face.

Crown Clown sprang up around him at his sudden alarm, but it wasn't necessary; Hevlaska had anticipated the attack, holding Kanda away from her as he continued to swing the sword in random but deadly patterns, clearly very happy. Komui put a restraining arm on Allen's human arm.

"Keep in mind some accommodators who come to us are quite young. Hev's used to this sort of thing."

Allen continued to watch him, trying very hard not to cry.

Oh, Kanda.

At some point Hevlaska managed to get his attention, and caught his arm gently with a glowing appendage. He made a noise of protest at the restraint but she soothed him with an odd windy sigh, and as soon as her forehead touched his all movement froze. Allen well remembered when she had done the same to him, with the same effect. He had suddenly become aware of her thoughts, and Crown Clown, but had known neither at the time.

He had suddenly felt safe and calm, warm and not alone. Whatever she was able to communicate to Kanda, he was very still.

If Mugen hadn't given him back his memories, then what was it .. .? How was it he was not able to stand, speak, or understand, yet had executed moves that took swordsmen a lifetime to master?

"Four percent," Hevlaska intoned softly. "Nine percent. Sixteen percent. Twenty-three percent. Twenty-nine percent. Thirty-five percent. Forty-two percent. Forty-seven percent." She stopped there, regretfully setting Kanda back in the wheelchair, and when she was no longer touching him he reached up with a curled hand and made a soft noise.

"Forty-seven percent," Leverrier repeated. "What was it when you last saw him, Hevlaska?"

Her voice was troubled. "Eighty-nine percent."

The inspector turned to them, and Allen tried very hard to ignore him. "How is that, I wonder."

Allen clenched his hands at his side, and was startled when Tiedoll leaned just a little closer to him, brushing his Innocence arm. The elder general said nothing, eyes locked on his pupil, and Allen kept his mouth shut.

That bastard. Of course Kanda's synch rate would drop.

. . . but was it that simple? The more Allen thought about it, the more he wondered. Clearly Kanda remembered _something._ Even if grasping the blade was all muscle memory, he had said the name. The first word Allen had heard him say.

Komui cleared his throat as Hevlaska gently wrestled Mugen away from the protesting Kanda. "I don't know, inspector. I've never seen an Innocence behave as Mugen has." Then he seemed to sense Allen's confusion. "On the very rare occasion that an Exorcist is permanently crippled, generally the Innocence will choose a new accommodator, one more suited for fighting the Earl. The synch rate dropping is common when Exorcists are absent from their Innocence for an extended period of time, but this . . ." Komui's voice was thoughtful. "It would appear Mugen has recognized the change in Kanda but still chooses to keep him."

Did Mugen choosing to keep Kanda as its accommodator mean his wounds were not permanent? That he was just slow to heal from this particular injury?

Leverrier made a gesture to the guard. "Bring her forward." At first Allen was confused, but then a voice with a heavy German accent echoed to them from the catacombs.

"-must be some mistake, we should really ask for the supervisor-"

Leverrier waited until she was fully in the room before addressing her. "Miranda Lotto."

The woman looked a bit disheveled, as if she had been taken from her sleeping quarters in a rush with her Innocence thrown on as an afterthought, and she glanced around at them with wide eyes. "Komui – Allen-kun!" She glanced around the cave a moment, greeting Hevlaska with a hurried bow, but then she saw the figure in the wheelchair, still reaching for Mugen though he was now silent, and she faltered. "Supervisor . . what-"

"Please place Kanda Yuu under Time Recovery."

She gave a little gasp and looked to Komui, and Allen followed her gaze to see the Chinaman give her a nod. She glanced back at Kanda uncertainly.

"Whenever you're ready, Miss Lotto."

Allen briefly wondered how much more trouble he'd be in if he punched Leverrier. Still, Kanda was first and foremost Tiedoll's pupil, and he seemed so calm about all this . . . didn't he care?

Or did he maybe know something the rest of them didn't know about Kanda?

Hesitantly, Miranda touched her right arm. "Innocence, activate!" she called into the cavern, and it slid down her arm, spinning into a disk that showed information only she could read. "Time Recovery!"

A yellow ring shot out to surround Kanda, and Allen was struck with how different it looked now. So organized, Miranda and the clock working as a team. The samurai's time vanished visibly; his arm dropped, his posture straightened, and there was an obvious moment when he was looking out of his own eyes again, alert and aware.

He blinked up at Hevlaska, then turned to look at their group though no one had spoken. The moment he saw the general he averted his eyes, studying the floor of the cave, and he opened his mouth as if to say something before closing it again.

If he was surprised at his location, he didn't show it.

"Kanda Yuu." Leverrier's voice was rather mild. "Do you know where you are?"

The Japanese man gave a short nod. Gone was his stiffness, the joints temporarily healed by Miranda's Innocence. She, too, was looking at the floor shyly, clearly uncomfortable.

"Yet you have never been here. Do you remember coming down here?"

Kanda hesitated. "Yes."

"Do you remember the last six weeks?"

"Yes." It was emotionless. No smart remarks, no irritation.

"Splendid," Leverrier murmured. "You have not been rejected by your Innocence. Therefore I must assume you are still a loyal Exorcist, devoted to the Order and to God." He turned on his heels. "Miranda Lotto."

She squeaked. "Y-yes, inspector?"

"Kanda Yuu was badly injured during his last mission. We will require the use of your Innocence to allow him to report. I will send for you in the morning. Please rest until then, and speak of this to no one."

She stared at him as if the words hadn't made sense, then turned, again questioningly, to Komui. "I-"

"Supervisor Komui has no authority in this regard," Leverrier cut her off. "You may release Kanda from Time Recovery."

"Oh, but it's no trouble! You see, I don't sleep often, I slept just two nights ago, so there's no need-"

"Release him from Time Recovery, if you please."

Kanda made no protest whatsoever, still staring at the ground, and it was Tiedoll who spoke into the silence.

"It's quite all right, dear. While you may not need sleep, Kanda-kun does. It will be easier for him if he is not overly burdened by your efforts. Please," he added kindly, and Miranda blinked rapidly at him before nodding. Then she turned again to Kanda, shyly.

"Are you . . . ready . . .?"

He gave her the same short nod he'd given Leverrier, and Allen bit his lip when Miranda eventually released him, and his head drooped forward, once more under the effect of the drugs Matron had given him to calm him. He whined as if he knew he had just been cheated of something, but Hevlaska soothed him with a tentacle, and he was distracted by her touch.

"Return them both to the infirmary. Miss Lotto, you are dismissed."

Allen glanced over at him. "But-"

The guards were not interested in his protests, and Leverrier's bright eyes were on them both as he was all but pushed back into what amounted to an adult stroller. The other Exorcist whimpered when Hevlaska was taken out of his direct line of sight, and Allen craned his neck around, watching Tiedoll, Komui, and Leverrier start speaking in hushed voices.

-x-

**Author's Notes**: Not a whole lot to say here . . . Kanda's condition will be explained in further chapters, but for now, it looks as though poor Miranda's going to become his shadow. And we did get to see a little of how Allen is feeling, but that too will be explained, as well as Komui's behavior. The idea of Kanda waving a sword around like a four year old is the intellectual property of silverfox2702, who made the image far too cute for me to leave out.

I hope the formatting is not too confusing, but if you have any questions, or hate it, please let me know!


	11. Chapter 10 CIM: Questions

Disclaimer in previous chapters. Please see Author's Notes at the end.

**NOTE**: This is a **CIM** (Curse is Magical) chapter. **CIM** supposes a curse can restore beyond what is capable by the human body. Please note that **CIM** and **CIP** chapters **will share some content****.** They will simply move in different directions.

-x-

His friends had apparently not tipped him off, and he managed to catch those dark eyes for a split second before Kanda closed them.

He was sitting up, waiting for his lunch, according to the Matron. It was her reluctant diagnosis that his hips were nearly healed, and that his shoulders and neck were even further along in the process. She had warned him about Kanda's silences, his lack of usual spirit, and the tattoo that had been dramatically altered by whomever had held him captive.

And she had also informed him, as only Matron could, that Kanda had asked not to see him. Asked. Not insisted. And only when it was mentioned to him that his general had been planning just that.

But it was too late for such protest, and Kanda should have known better. He'd seen him yesterday morning, seen his reunion with Mugen. If he was embarrassed that Mugen had balked when the first thing its accommodator had done was spit a piece of dark matter at it, that was easy to overlook. What was not easy to overlook was his hesitance, right before then, to return the katana to Hevlaska . . . that hadn't been because of the sensations in his chest. It had been something else.

And now it was time to see just how much of that something else Yuu was willing to show him.

Marie bowed his head in greeting, and Lavi, the apprentice Bookman, gave him a polite nod. Neither said anything, though, keeping the relative silence, and he got his first good look at his pupil in a less combative atmosphere.

Even with Marie there, he was tense. His arms were by his sides, not even laying on his stomach, let alone crossed across his chest as was his usual. Normally that was a gesture to keep people out, a visible reminder of his defensiveness at being seen as weak or injured. This passive laying against the pillows was utterly unlike him, and was belied by the tension in his frame. Tiedoll was sure he was the reason for that tension, and the closer he approached, the more Kanda tensed.

So touching him was completely out of the question. He didn't want it, even though he was obviously prepared to tolerate it.

The general stole a chair from the empty bed beside Kanda's, startling Marie though the apprentice Bookman simply observed it. Kanda had referred to him often enough that he knew his pupil was fond of the redhead, but he couldn't spare that teen the slightest amount of leeway, and wanted him gone.

He had known. Perhaps not the whole time, but for weeks at minimum. He also knew what it meant, that Kanda's tattoo was so large. Tiedoll could actually see it, peeking out beneath the blue infirmary shirt, climbing over jutting collarbones. That Bookman's apprentice knew exactly what it must have taken to get Kanda's weight so low, had probably known each time the Order received another token.

Even if his hands had been tied by his own master, Froi was in no mood to forgive him, or consider him safe for Yuu to interact with at this point in his recovery.

He didn't need to be observed, recorded, scrutinized. He was going to get enough of that during his trial. Really more of a group interrogation at this point, and absolutely not for heresy thanks to Mugen, but it was going to be the unavoidable requirement of confession to strangers as well as friends. And Froi was pretty sure that if left to his own devices, Kanda would probably willingly only breathe a few words of his missing time to them over the entire course of his lifetime.

Charity Bell jingled in his head, and Tiedoll forced down a lump in his throat. It was painful enough to see Kanda like this without thinking about Daisya. That cheerful boy would have had Kanda himself crying by now. He looked as if he desperately needed it.

The general made himself comfortable, content to wait, and Kanda's face remained unwrinkled. His forehead was unfurrowed. His eyebrows were not drawn together. The typical frown was there but muted, and he left his eyes closed, even when the infirmary doors opened again and the clatter of a cart laden with silverware and food made itself heard.

Soba and tempura were probably not going to be sufficient to put meat back on those bones. He'd have to sit down with Yuu alone and beg him to eat something more fattening.

"Kanda." It was Marie, and chiding. "Do not be so rude. Master only now was released from house arrest."

Tiedoll shook his head, putting a hand on Marie's shoulder. He too was sitting stiffly in a chair beside the bed, and did not flinch at the contact. "It is fine, Marie. Yuu-kun is always reluctant to see us when he is injured. Let him act like a spoiled child while he has the luxury of doing so."

It was the best gesture he could make of their old routine, and his desire to see it once again.

Kanda opened his eyes.

They were listless and unhappy, though his frown didn't deepen, and Tiedoll felt a stab of guilt. Kanda had only reacted because he knew that his general wanted him to. And even knowing it, simply meeting his gaze was as far as Yuu could make himself go.

_I'm sorry_.

But that apology would mean nothing if he gave it here, gave it now; Kanda would not accept it with Marie and the apprentice Bookman watching. It would require him to think too deeply on what he had only just left. His dark eyes dropped to his blanketed knees, and Tiedoll wondered if he'd really left after all.

It was Yuu's pride that fueled so much of what he did and who he was, and that pride appeared to be gone.

"General." Apparently even the Bookman's apprentice had a limit for tolerating awkward silences. "Did you happen to see Allen on your way in?"

Manners dictate that he answer civilly, and he did need to make a good example, if only for Marie. "No. But I did see the young inspector in the hallway earlier." Howard Link had looked pale but steady on his feet, probably on his way to report to Leverrier. Like Innocence, magic had a way of feeding back on a person who misused it or extended themselves too far, and like him, Link was apparently aware that the symptoms of that feedback could be hidden from Matron if you knew your body well enough. It wasn't the first time the young man had overextended himself.

And his consciousness probably marked the end of Matron's ability to protect Allen Walker from Leverrier. He had used the Gate to travel to Belgrade, from what Chaoji had told him, and supposedly left Inspector Link behind. The Vatican would not take too kindly to their loose canon developing a mind or will of his own.

And along those same lines, Froi was not surprised that Chaoji was not here with Kanda. Loyalty meant everything to him, and the idea that Kanda might have betrayed them, the fact that Central was trying him . . . this would not soon be repaired. Though Kanda was still alive, he was far from uninjured, and the consequences of this would be far-reaching.

In a way, though they had gotten him out alive, the Noah had won the battle. There was distrust within the Order walls now, and try as he might, even knowing that, he still felt no more desire to play nicely with the young Bookman than before.

If Lavi knew his thoughts, he didn't give it away. "It's too bad Link didn't sleep for another hour or two. That way Allen wouldn't have missed lunch."

The cart that had been rattling up to Matron's office had finally made its way back to the only patient left. Despite the fact that Howard Link and Allen Walker had been removed from the walls, the place was no less crowded. Two guards stood by the doors, just in case Yuu was thinking of leaving, and Leverrier had dispatched an inspector to keep an eye on things. Adding Marie, Lavi, and himself, Kanda probably felt surrounded.

The man Jerry had sent with the food coughed gently, making his presence known, and Marie reached for the wheeled table tucked behind the head of Kanda's bed. The Japanese teen made no move to help, nor showed any interest as a plate that did not contain either soba or tempura was placed on the table in front of him. Instead, he was presented with steamed vegetables, boiled chicken with onion, and thick white bread.

The orderly placed a wrapped set of silverware beside the plate, and Lavi spoke before the general could. "Didn't Jerry send chopsticks?"

It seemed to take the man by surprise; he shuffled some of the other meals on the cart. "Oh, I'm afraid I didn't think of it because none of the food was in a bento box. I'll get you a pair right away."

"Are you sure this meal is meant for Kanda?"

The man nodded quickly, fishing for a piece of paper in his apron. "This is what Matron prescribed for him."

Veggies for fiber, meat for protein and bread for energy, but none of it rich. She didn't know how long it had been since food had last been in Kanda's stomach, since she'd only gotten some into him yesterday.

He turned back to his pupil, expecting at least some protest, and was shocked to see him with the napkin covering the exposed portion of the sweater between the table and his mouth. He held a fork in one hand and a knife in the other, and without looking at any of them, began to politely cut his chicken.

No protest. No fussing. He didn't need to be convinced to eat what was brought, nor did he ask for something else. He laid down the knife as he took the first bite, as though he was not literally starving, and the orderly cleared his throat.

"I . . . well, it looks like that will do. I'll just finish delivering these and make sure it isn't over looked again."

He moved away, apparently to serve the guards and the inspector, and Tiedoll watched his pupil for a moment. "Yuu-kun, if that isn't what you wanted, you can ask for something else."

The young man swallowed the bite of chicken, hesitating for a moment. "It's fine," he said, as if about to add something else before thinking better. Then he picked up the knife.

One of the things that had always driven Kanda was reason. He wasn't the brightest man Tiedoll had ever met, but he was far from stupid and he had the ability to apply logic to situations. It was one of the reasons he was so deadly in combat. While he had little booklearning, and he wasn't aware what he was doing in his head was mathematics, he could calculate angles, speed, and trajectory with a glance, and apply probability to any given attack or series of attacks, allowing him to change his plan in the middle.

Was this trauma? Was he simply unable to process the present because of the past? He had undergone extensive physical injury in the last six weeks, more than the rest of his life combined. Perhaps this was shock? Something he had had to put off in order to survive?

"Marie. Lavi. Please give us a moment."

Marie moved immediately, and Tiedoll was surprised when the apprentice Bookman made no argument about 'preserving his record.' Both teens simply got up and walked back towards Matron's desk. As they passed, he heard Lavi start talking loudly about all the things Matron had forced him to eat while cooped up in the infirmary, and even though he knew it was a distraction, for Matron, for Marie, for the guards, he could not shake his anger.

And now was not the time to dwell. Kanda was cutting another piece of chicken, using table manners that he had tried to teach but never required. This was not for him. This was something Kanda was doing automatically, and he seemed to realize it when he noticed Froi's stare.

The general took a slow breath. "Tell me how to help, Yuu."

The young man studied the eating utensils a moment, really looked at them, and then set them down, gently, on the table. And Froi realized there was another reason, besides routine, that Kanda might be behaving the way he was. Why he was silent unless spoken to. Why he allowed everything to happen around him so passively. Why he was eating with a knife and a fork as if in the banquet hall of the Pope.

"You don't believe any of this is actually happening."

He was still operating under the rules of his captors. As if this was a dream, and if he misbehaved or dared to hope, the illusion would be taken away.

Rhode Camelot specialized in dreams, he recalled it from the files the Order kept on each member of the Noah family. She was certainly not the Noah he had encountered at the estate, but that didn't mean she hadn't invited herself in one dreary afternoon.

Kanda sucked a flake of chicken off his bottom lip. "I know it is." The inflection was odd; the stress was on 'is' instead of 'know.'

"And how is that?"

For the first time since he'd sat down, Kanda looked at him. Kanda Yuu. It wasn't a show to please him, it was a mask. One of Kanda's masks. "Something happened I did not believe was possible."

It was seemingly flawed logic, that nothing unbelievable could happen in a dream, but Yuu had no patience for philosophy. The answer was very straightforward to him. "What was that?"

"Link." His gaze dropped to his plate again, apparently taking inventory. "I knew he was a Crow, but I did not believe him capable."

"Capable of holding so many incantations at once?"

It wasn't enough to make Kanda smile, but it did earn him the eyes again. "Capable of bothering."

That Yuu would believe Link would prefer to leave them to their deaths was not disappointing; Crow were not trained in rescue. Nor would Kanda's brain build a dream where he was. The boy dreamt, nearly every night; he himself had sat up with him when he was much younger, during the evenings when those dreams were not pleasant. But Kanda's good dreams, when he had spoken of them, were of everyday things. Training. Walking through landscapes. Arguing with his acquaintances.

"And so you are certain this is the Order headquarters."

Kanda closed his eyes in a nod.

"And knowing that this is real makes you unhappy." His mind replayed the words he had hoped he'd misheard.

"_Boy, do you wish to leave with the general?"_

"_No, master."_

"Is there some other threat you present to us?" Was it possible Komui would have missed any other golem or other device the Noah could have implanted in him? They had already made it clear they knew exactly where the Order's headquarters had gone, it wasn't as if they had anything more to gain by tracking him. Unless Kanda could be used as a Trojan horse, could kill some or all of them. He was not capable of carrying disease, not with his curse, so what could they hope to have him spread . . .?

Oddly, his pupil's face twisted. "It doesn't matter."

Tiedoll sharpened his gaze. "It matters a great deal, Yuu." Kanda shook his head but didn't bother to contradict him verbally, and the general sighed. "Let me help carry this burden of yours."

Kanda looked away, this time in honest annoyance. ". . . you already are."

Which could mean anything. And these were more words than he'd gotten out of Kanda in one sitting in _years._ But Froi was willing to push his luck, even if some of this amounted to using the boy in a moment of vulnerability. "What threat could you possibly be? What consequence could follow you here even now?"

Kanda didn't answer him, which was disappointing but not unexpected, and Tiedoll pinned him for quite some time before he softened his gaze. "I want to help, if only you will tell me."

The boy refused to look at him, staring at the plate, and eventually shook his head in disgust. There was no 'che,' he was out of the habit, but it was there in his mannerisms, and he picked up his silverware again. The general considered requiring the chopsticks, if only to further remove him from whatever memory it was driving him to use them, but the chicken breast was in a single piece and Yuu disliked being impolite at the dinner table even more than he disliked being smothered by compassion.

-x-

"Allen Walker." It was elegant and cold. "It seems just yesterday you were standing before a tribunal giving your oath that you would not use the Ark under your control without prior authorization from Central."

Komui Lee watched the boy, hardly over sixteen, evaluate the inspector. He was utterly unafraid, soaking up the lights, and there was that odd quirk to his lips, that steely glint to his eyes. Most importantly, there was a willing and able opponent opposite him, who was smiling at him as though he was a very pale canary.

Allen was angry. And he was going to play.

Unfortunately, he was so skilled at bluffing that Komui really wasn't sure what was going to happen.

"It seems you were aware of the restrictions placed upon you. Inspector Howard Link, to my right, has testified that you locked yourself in the train lavatory prior to opening a Gate, in order to exclude him from your activities. Taking up Cross' mantle, are we, Allen Walker?"

"I make it a point never to take after General Cross," he answered, almost contritely. "If I had, I wouldn't be here, now would I."

Leverrier didn't seem to appreciate the levity, though Komui caught one of the inspectors smiling. "Why would you exclude the inspector assigned to monitor your every movement from this particular activity?"

"There was no reason to risk him," Allen replied bluntly. "He does not possess an Innocence-type weapon. I felt I would be endangering him."

Beside Leverrier, Link sat up a little more stiffly, but otherwise said nothing. Despite waking only that morning, he had immediately requested to speak with Leverrier, and though he still seemed a little pale he also seemed determined to make up for it in presence.

"So you knew, when you abandoned your orders, where you were going?"

"Yes."

"And how exactly was that?"

Allen didn't look towards him, but Komui bent his head a bit, studying the papers in front of him before looking up. It wasn't exactly a nod, and he knew damn well that a good deal of that boy's anger was directed at him. Allen had been operating under the impression that they had gotten no leads on Kanda's whereabouts. Now he knew differently.

_How_ exactly he knew was a matter of debate, but Komui figured it had either been Lavi, or Allen had overheard something in the infirmary. No matter. Allen had been angry ever since he'd seen Kanda's reunion with Mugen, and Komui had never had any intention of asking Allen to cover for him.

"Komui contacted me." It didn't sound apologetic in the slightest.

All eyes swiveled to him, and Komui met them innocently.

Link began scouring paperwork while Leverrier rested his chin in his hands. "Is this true, Supervisor?"

"Yes, yes, of course," he said at once. "As we agreed, I sent Lavi and Bookman to follow up on the most recent lead. Once they were able to confirm Tiedoll's presence in Belgrade, I determined that Allen was the only Critical that could possibly have gotten there in time to do any good."

Howard Link cleared his throat delicately. "The paperwork you previously submitted has no record of such an order, Supervisor."

Komui frowned, shuffling through his own papers. "Really? I'm certain I submitted that with the rest of it, perhaps Bridget mislaid it when she brought the papers over-"

"You gave the papers directly to the inspectors," Bridget Faye muttered acidly at his right, but he ignored her.

"Regardless," Leverrier dismissed the obvious lie with a wave of his hand, "you must have known he would need to use the Ark to cross that distance 'in time,' as you put it."

Komui looked up, hoping the light was hiding his eyes from sight. "Of course I did. I have authorization from Central to approve the use of new Gates for logistical purposes."

That was stretching his authority mightily. He had authorization to make the request, and to maintain or move Gates at already approved sites. He also had extremely limited abilities to study the Gate creation in an effort to determine if they could use their Ark to infiltrate the enemy's – or the other way around.

"Dispatching Allen Walker on a mission that would require him to use the Musician's license is not within your realm of authority, Komui Lee, which the Vatican made extremely clear." Leverrier's voice was silky.

Komui tilted his head. "It wasn't a mission. We originally had no intention of sending Walker to Belgrade to investigate the lead. And in hindsight, even with the dispatching of another Critical to back up Tiedoll's team, they barely made it out of there alive."

Leverrier leaned forward. "What would you call that if not a mission? And knowing that General Tiedoll had been contacted by the Noah and was walking into a trap, you dispatched the one who can control the Ark and allowed him to make a Gate right on top of the suspected location of one of the Noah Clan?"

This was not an argument Komui wanted to have in front of Allen. "The Earl said it himself. We're entering the final act. The Heart is active in the world, possibly even here. If we allow the Noah to start picking the generals off one by one, and they succeed, it won't matter whether or not we identify the Heart, because we will no longer have the fighting force of the Exorcists to protect it."

"And what do you suppose will happen if we hand the Ark and the Musician back to the Earl?"

"Excuse me," Allen cut in mildly. "I don't think I will be handed to _anyone_, thank you."

Leverrier ignored him utterly, and Komui reluctantly followed suit. It was better for Walker that he stay angry, at this point. "I am saying that I believe, if we had taken no action, that allowing Tiedoll and his team to be overwhelmed would have been equivalent."

Ultimately, he was saying the loss of six Exorcists in one fell swoop would have spelled the end of the Order's ability to successfully beat the Earl. Lavi was young and the Bookman's apprentice but he was able to do an extreme amount of damage to a large area in a short time. Marie was exceptionally skillful, and Froi Tiedoll was a Critical. Bookman and Chaoji would have had no hope of surviving what killed those three, and Kanda-

Kanda was another story altogether. One he wasn't looking forward to hearing.

The inspector had a ready retort but he swallowed it, blinking quickly, before leaning back in his chair. "Need I remind you the Order has never had more than five Criticals in operation contemporaneously at any given time in its history." Then he indicated a piece of paper in front of him. "Earlier you heard the general's testimony regarding his strategy for extracting the Exorcist Kanda Yuu. Had you known his plans, would you have dispatched another Critical to support him?"

Komui inclined his head. "Had I known the general was so well prepared, I might not have felt the need to send another Critical. However, in hindsight, it was the right decision. We have never seen a Noah leverage that much firepower against any group of Exorcists before. And from a morale perspective, losing Tiedoll during a mission to rescue one of his pupils, losing six Exorcists in one night, it would have been devastating. Worse than Barcelona. My position as head supervisor over the Exorcists gives me the authority to dispatch those forces as I see fit."

Leverrier seemed to give something considerable thought, and Komui knew damn well that it wasn't his excuse. Even if it happened to be truth, his time as head supervisor was officially suspended, if not over. Disobeying the Vatican could not go unpunished, and protecting Allen was all he could do at this point.

"Be that as it may," the inspector finally allowed, "we are here to discuss Allen Walker's transgressions." He turned back to the bright boy in the center of the circle of tables. "Did you know at the time that Supervisor Komui did not have authorization from Central?"

He stared at the inspector in barely veiled shock. That was it? He was going to continue laying blame on Allen as if nothing had happened?

For his part, Allen seemed almost relieved that the focus had come back to him. "I didn't ask."

"Yet you know Central authorization is required for you to use the Musician's license."

"Apparently not," Allen observed dryly, and a murmur went up from the collected inquisitors at the insinuation.

Komui took a deep breath through his nose. It was a dangerous game Allen was playing, and he certainly had Leverrier's full attention now. "Are you saying that you would knowingly use the Musician's license even without Central's authorization?"

Allen cocked his head the other way, and Komui cleared his throat. "I think Walker was merely-"

"I didn't ask whether or not I had permission because I didn't want to know," Allen interrupted smoothly. "Supervisor Komui explained his reasons and I wanted to help General Tiedoll."

The inspector was not very happy at being derailed. "Did you want to help the general? Or ease your own guilt?"

It was all too easy to pierce Allen's heart; it was so large and so soft. It bled so easily, and though he had to be expecting it Allen still looked stricken. ". . . I-"

"Howard Link testified that prior to your sudden 'upset stomach' you had been discussing the abduction of Kanda Yuu. Clearly it was still on your mind."

Allen raised his chin. "It didn't matter who it was. I would have done the same for any Exorcist."

"Does that mean, if I were to give you an order never to create another Gate, you would defy that order if another Exorcist was to be captured by the Earl?"

Dangerous territory, and Allen was not bluffing when he answered. "The Pope himself said we cannot afford to lose any more Exorcists. That's the only reason I'm still a-llowed to function in this capacity." His tongue tripped only once.

Leverrier leaned back in his chair, lacing his fingers together on the table. "The restrictions under which you are allowed to function were made very clear to you, and it seems to me that you knowingly and willfully ignored them."

Allen bowed his head a little, taking his time, and his bangs shadowed his face from the bright lights above. "If disobeying those restrictions means I can save another Exorcist, then I am willing to suffer any punishment."

Komui froze at those words, and the other inspectors began to murmur. Allen did have one good point – the Pope himself was concerned with preserving the Exorcists, and it was the Vatican that had made the ultimate decision on Allen's fate. While using the Musician's license may or may not be bringing Allen closer and closer to the Noah that lived inside him, was one step worth saving six Exorcists?

"You will be punished regardless of your willingness." Leverrier's voice was sharp. "You will remain under guard until further notice, and confined to your quarters when not needed for additional questioning. Take him away."

-x-

**Author's Notes**: In my brilliance I thought I could cover Kanda's first day of questioning, which happens right after this, but then I looked at the length and decided that's a good thing for next chapter. It will make his interaction with Tiedoll make a lot more sense. In the meantime, Allen and Komui are on the block for doing the right thing . . . and believe it or not, this is only being included because it's very important to Kanda later in the fic.

And I have to say, while this is an experiment, and it is mostly for my own fun, there are three reasons to post fic – because it's a blast, to practice writing, and to get egoboos. The last chapter (two, I guess) garnered a grand total of 800 readers and six reviews. That's less than one review in one hundred readers. I'm not really sure how to interpret that, but it is certainly an all-time low for me. It tells me no one feels strongly enough about it to say anything, but at the same time it's getting a lot of traffic.

So I guess it's a good time to mention that when I write a long fic (and this one is gonna be long . . . dammit) I usually offer a written present to my reviewers, as a thank you for the help and insight they give me.

I'll dangle that out there in the hopes that it appeals to some of you lurkers! A fic of your choice, any plot and any characters that I know or can write, to the reader that goes above and beyond to let me know what works, what doesn't, or seems to be having as much fun reading as I am writing.


	12. Chapter 10 CIP: Questions

Disclaimer in previous chapters. Please see Author's Notes at the end.

**NOTE**: This is a **CIP** (Curse is Physical) chapter. **CIP** supposes a curse can accelerate the normal healing capabilities of the human body, but not surpass them. Please note that **CIM** and **CIP** chapters **will share some content****.** They will simply move in different directions.

-x-

His friends had apparently not tipped him off, and he managed to catch those dark eyes for a split second before Kanda closed them.

He was sitting up, waiting for his lunch, according to the Matron. Even without Miss Lotto holding him in Time Recovery, it was Matron's reluctant diagnosis that his hips were nearly healed, and that his shoulders and neck were even further along in the process. X-rays showed no remaining damage to his brain, yet he had not regained his voice or his memories. She had warned him about Kanda's silences, his lack of usual spirit, and the tattoo that had been dramatically altered by whomever had held him captive.

And she had also informed him, as only Matron could, that Kanda had asked not to see him. Asked. Not insisted. And only when it was mentioned to him that his general had been planning just that.

But it was too late for such protest, and Kanda should have known better. He'd seen him yesterday morning, seen his reunion with Mugen. Kanda had claimed to remember everything that had happened before Miranda Lotto had placed him under the influence of her Innocence. If this was embarrassment at what he was now, at his injuries, it was easy to overlook.

If he was truly no longer useful, Mugen would not have remained loyal to him. Kanda's brain was fully repaired. Though he had lost his language clearly his training was intact, at least in some form. There was nothing preventing him from re-learning the skills he had lost, and Mugen recognized that.

But there was a perhaps even more pressing concern, in that Kanda claimed he _remembered._ He remembered what had happened in the six intervening weeks, and that by itself would be hard to handle. Having to reconcile himself to being little more than an overgrown infant when Miranda Lotto was not there to bring him back to harsh reality had to be nearly impossible for the proud samurai. The injury was bad enough, but without knowing what had happened to him during the six weeks prior . . .

Miranda was sitting on a chair in front of Matron's desk, having practically folded herself into quarters in her desire to make herself utterly unobtrusive, and he gave her a grateful smile as he passed her. There were deep bags under her eyes but her smile was friendly, if a little tremulous.

"Thank you for staying with him, Miss Lotto."

"It's no trouble," she murmured, ever so quietly. He followed her gaze to the bed, where Marie and another Exorcist were keeping Yuu company. "His time doesn't weigh more than a feather."

All she was doing was ensuring that he still remembered, and Tiedoll rather wished her Innocence could pass judgment on those memories, determine which ones really were keeping Kanda at his 'best' and which were harming him.

When he arrived at Kanda's bed, Marie bowed his head in greeting, and Lavi, the apprentice Bookman, gave him a polite nod. Neither said anything, though, keeping the same relative silence Miranda had, and Froi got his first good look at his pupil in a less combative atmosphere.

Even with Marie there, he was tense. His arms were by his sides, not even laying on his stomach, let alone crossed across his chest as was his usual. Normally that was a gesture to keep people out, a visible reminder of his defensiveness at being seen as weak or injured. This passive laying against the pillows was utterly unlike him, and was belied by the tension in his frame. Tiedoll was sure he was the reason for that tension, and the closer he approached, the more Kanda tensed.

So touching him was completely out of the question. He didn't want it, even though he was obviously prepared to tolerate it.

The general stole a chair from the empty bed beside Kanda's, startling Marie though the apprentice Bookman simply observed it. Kanda had referred to him often enough that he knew his pupil was fond of the redhead, but he couldn't spare that teen the slightest amount of leeway, and wanted him gone.

While Miranda Lotto had been in the dark regarding Kanda's situation, Lavi had known. Perhaps not the whole time, but for weeks at minimum. He also knew what it meant, that Kanda's tattoo was so large. Tiedoll could actually see it, peeking out beneath the blue infirmary shirt, climbing over jutting collarbones. That Bookman's apprentice knew exactly what it must have taken to get Kanda's weight so low, had probably known each time the Order received another token.

Even if his hands had been tied by his own master, Froi was in no mood to forgive him, or consider him safe for Yuu to interact with at this point in his recovery.

He didn't need to be observed, recorded, scrutinized. He was going to get enough of that during his trial. Really more of a group interrogation at this point, and not for heresy, thanks to Mugen, but it was going to be the unavoidable requirement of confession to strangers as well as friends. And Froi was pretty sure that if left to his own devices, Kanda would probably willingly only breathe a few words of his missing time to them over the entire course of his lifetime.

Charity Bell jingled in his head, and Tiedoll forced down a lump in his throat. It was painful enough to see Kanda like this without thinking about Daisya. That cheerful boy would have had Kanda himself crying by now. He looked as if he desperately needed it.

The general made himself comfortable, content to wait, and Kanda's face remained unwrinkled. His forehead was unfurrowed. His eyebrows were not drawn together. The typical frown was there but muted, and he left his eyes closed, even when the infirmary doors opened again and the clatter of a cart laden with silverware and food made itself heard.

Soba and tempura were probably not going to be sufficient to put meat back on those bones. He'd have to sit down with Yuu alone and beg him to eat something more fattening.

"Kanda." It was Marie, and chiding. "Do not be so rude. Master only now was released from house arrest."

Tiedoll shook his head, putting a hand on Marie's shoulder. He too was sitting stiffly in a chair beside the bed, and did not flinch at the contact. "It is fine, Marie. Yuu-kun is always reluctant to see us when he is injured. Let him act like a spoiled child while he has the luxury of doing so."

It was the best gesture he could make of their old routine, and his desire to see it once again.

Kanda opened his eyes.

They were listless and unhappy, though his frown didn't deepen, and Tiedoll felt a stab of guilt. Kanda had only reacted because he knew that his general wanted him to. And even knowing it, simply meeting his gaze was as far as Yuu could make himself go.

_I'm sorry_.

But that apology would mean nothing if he gave it here, gave it now; Kanda would not accept it with Marie and the apprentice Bookman watching, with Miranda Lotto babbling frantically in the background. It would require him to think too deeply on what he had only just left, and what would happen when she was no longer there. His dark eyes dropped to his blanketed knees, and Tiedoll wondered if he'd really left after all.

Rescued only to be put right back into an inescapable mansion.

"General." Apparently even the Bookman's apprentice had a limit for tolerating awkward silences. "Did you happen to see Allen on your way in?"

Manners dictate that he answer civilly, and he did need to make a good example, if only for Marie. "No. But I did see the young inspector in the hallway earlier." Howard Link had looked pale but steady on his feet, probably on his way to report to Leverrier. Like Innocence, magic had a way of feeding back on a person who misused it or extended themselves too far, and like him, Link was apparently aware that the symptoms of that feedback could be hidden from Matron if you knew your body well enough. It wasn't the first time the young man had overextended himself.

And his consciousness probably marked the end of Matron's ability to protect Allen Walker from Leverrier. He had used the Gate to travel to Belgrade, from what Chaoji had told him, and supposedly left Inspector Link behind. The Vatican would not take too kindly to their loose canon developing a mind or will of his own.

And along those same lines, Froi was not surprised that Chaoji was not here with Kanda. Loyalty meant everything to him, and the idea that Kanda might have betrayed them, the fact that Central was trying him . . . this would not soon be repaired. Though Kanda was still alive, he was far from uninjured, and the consequences of this would be far-reaching.

In a way, though they had gotten him out alive, the Noah had won the battle. There was distrust within the Order walls now, and try as he might, even knowing that, he still felt no more desire to play nicely with the young Bookman than before.

If Lavi knew his thoughts, he didn't give it away. "It's too bad Link didn't sleep for another hour or two. That way Allen wouldn't have missed lunch."

The cart that had been rattling up to Matron's office had finally made its way back to the only patient left. Despite the fact that Howard Link and Allen Walker had been removed from the walls, the place was no less crowded. Two guards stood by the doors, just in case Yuu was thinking of leaving, and Leverrier had dispatched an inspector to keep an eye on things. Adding Marie, Lavi, Miranda, and himself, Kanda probably felt completely surrounded.

The man Jerry had sent with the food coughed gently, making his presence known, and Marie reached for the wheeled table tucked behind the head of Kanda's bed. The Japanese teen made no move to help, nor showed any interest as a plate that did not contain either soba or tempura was placed on the table in front of him. Instead, he was presented with steamed vegetables, boiled chicken with onion, and thick white bread.

The orderly placed a wrapped set of silverware beside the plate, and Lavi spoke before the general could. "Didn't Jerry send chopsticks?"

It seemed to take the man by surprise; he shuffled some of the other meals on the cart. "Oh, I'm afraid I didn't think of it because none of the food was in a bento box. I'll get you a pair right away."

"Are you sure this meal is meant for Kanda?"

The man nodded quickly, fishing for a piece of paper in his apron. "This is what Matron prescribed for him."

Veggies for fiber, meat for protein and bread for energy, but none of it rich. She didn't know how long it had been since food had last been in Kanda's stomach, since she'd only gotten some into him yesterday.

He turned back to his pupil, expecting at least some protest, and was shocked to see him with the napkin covering the exposed portion of the sweater between the table and his mouth. He held a fork in one hand and a knife in the other, and without looking at any of them, began to politely cut his chicken.

No protest. No fussing. He didn't need to be convinced to eat what was brought, nor did he ask for something else. He laid down the knife as he took the first bite, as though he was not literally starving, and the orderly cleared his throat.

"I . . . well, it looks like that will do. I'll just finish delivering these and make sure it isn't over looked again."

He moved away, apparently to serve the guards and the inspector, and Tiedoll watched his pupil for a moment. "Yuu-kun, if that isn't what you wanted, you can ask for something else."

The young man swallowed the bite of chicken, hesitating for a moment. "It's fine," he said, as if about to add something else before thinking better. Then he picked up the knife.

One of the things that had always driven Kanda was reason. He wasn't the brightest man Tiedoll had ever met, but he was far from stupid and he had the ability to apply logic to situations. It was one of the reasons he was so deadly in combat. While he had little booklearning, and he wasn't aware what he was doing in his head was mathematics, he could calculate angles, speed, and trajectory with a glance, and apply probability to any given attack or series of attacks, allowing him to change his plan in the middle.

Was this trauma? Was he simply unable to process the present because of the past? He had undergone extensive physical injury in the last six weeks, more than the rest of his life combined. Coupled with the reality of suffering a semi-permanent injury that his curse could not fully restore . . . perhaps it was shock?

"Marie. Lavi. Please give us a moment."

Marie moved immediately, and Tiedoll was surprised when the apprentice Bookman made no argument about 'preserving his record.' Both teens simply got up and walked back towards Miranda. As they passed, he heard Lavi start talking loudly about all the things Matron had forced him to eat while cooped up in the infirmary, and even though he knew it was a distraction, for Miranda, for Marie, for the guards, he could not shake his anger.

And now was not the time to dwell. Kanda was cutting another piece of chicken, using table manners that he had tried to teach but never required. This was not for him. This was something Kanda was doing automatically, and he seemed to realize it when he noticed Froi's stare.

The general took a slow breath. "Tell me how to help, Yuu."

The young man studied the eating utensils a moment, really looked at them, and then set them down, gently, on the table. And Froi realized there was another reason, besides routine, that Kanda might be behaving the way he was. Why he was silent unless spoken to. Why he allowed everything to happen around him so passively. Why he was eating with a knife and a fork as if in the banquet hall of the Pope.

"You don't believe any of this is actually happening."

He was still operating under the rules of his captors. As if this was a dream, and if he misbehaved or dared to hope, the illusion would be taken away.

Or perhaps it _was_ hope, that it was a dream, and he was not effectively crippled.

Rhode Camelot specialized in dreams, he recalled it from the files the Order kept on each member of the Noah family. She was certainly not the Noah he had encountered at the estate, but that didn't mean she hadn't invited herself in one dreary afternoon.

Kanda sucked a flake of chicken off his bottom lip. "I know it is." The inflection was odd; the stress was on 'is' instead of 'know.'

"And how is that?"

For the first time since he'd sat down, Kanda looked at him. Kanda Yuu. It wasn't a show to please him, it was a mask. One of Kanda's masks. "Something happened I did not believe was possible."

It was seemingly flawed logic, that nothing unbelievable could happen in a dream, but Yuu had no patience for philosophy. The answer was very straightforward to him. "What was that?"

"Link." His gaze dropped to his plate again, apparently taking inventory. "I knew he was a Crow, but I did not believe him capable."

"Capable of holding so many incantations at once?"

It wasn't enough to make Kanda smile, but it did earn him the eyes again. "Capable of bothering."

That Yuu would believe Link would prefer to leave them to their deaths was not disappointing; Crow were not trained in rescue. Nor would Kanda's brain build a dream where they were. The boy dreamt, nearly every night; he himself had sat up with him when he was much younger, during the evenings when those dreams were not pleasant. But Kanda's good dreams, when he had spoken of them, were of everyday things. Training. Walking through landscapes. Arguing with his acquaintances.

"And so you are certain this is the Order headquarters."

Kanda closed his eyes in a nod.

"And knowing that this is real makes you unhappy." His mind replayed the words he had hoped he'd misheard.

"_Boy, do you wish to leave with the general?"_

"_No, master."_

Had Kanda known what was going to happen to him when they left? Was that the reason for his behavior? Tiedoll felt another stab of guilt, much deeper. Yuu would have known they would have refused to leave without him. He had let himself be rescued because it was the only way they could get to safety. But did he know the damage that would be done him?

Or was it something else?

"Is there some other threat you present to us?" Was it possible Komui would have missed any other golem or other device the Noah could have implanted in him? They had already made it clear they knew exactly where the Order's headquarters had gone, it wasn't as if they had anything more to gain by tracking him. Unless Kanda could be used as a Trojan horse, could kill some or all of them. He was not capable of carrying disease, not with his curse, so what could they hope to have him spread? Would they have expected him to survive at all?

Oddly, his pupil's face twisted. "It doesn't matter."

Tiedoll sharpened his gaze. "It matters a great deal, Yuu." Kanda shook his head but didn't bother to contradict him verbally, and the general sighed. "Let me help carry this burden of yours."

Kanda looked away, this time in honest annoyance. ". . . you already are."

Which could mean anything. And these were more words than he'd gotten out of Kanda in one sitting in _years._ But Froi was willing to push his luck, even if some of this amounted to using the boy in a moment of vulnerability. "What threat could you possibly be?"

The moment he said it, he regretted it, regretted the implication. Kanda didn't answer him, which was disappointing but not unexpected, and Tiedoll softened his gaze and let it go in apology. "I want to help, if only you will tell me."

The boy refused to look at him, staring at the plate, and eventually shook his head in disgust. There was no 'che,' he was out of the habit, but it was there in his mannerisms, and he picked up his silverware again. The general considered requiring the chopsticks, if only to further remove him from whatever memory it was driving him to use them, but the chicken breast was in a single piece and Yuu disliked being impolite at the dinner table even more than he disliked being smothered by compassion.

x-

"Allen Walker." It was elegant and cold. "It seems just yesterday you were standing before a tribunal giving your oath that you would not use the Ark under your control without prior authorization from Central."

Komui Lee watched the boy, hardly over sixteen, evaluate the inspector. He was utterly unafraid, soaking up the lights, and there was that odd quirk to his lips, that steely glint to his eyes. Most importantly, there was a willing and able opponent opposite him, who was smiling at him as though he was a very pale canary.

Allen was angry. And he was going to play.

Unfortunately, he was so skilled at bluffing that Komui really wasn't sure what was going to happen.

"It seems you were aware of the restrictions placed upon you. Inspector Howard Link, to my right, has testified that you locked yourself in the train lavatory prior to opening a Gate, in order to exclude him from your activities. Taking up Cross' mantle, are we, Allen Walker?"

"I make it a point never to take after General Cross," he answered, almost contritely. "If I had, I wouldn't be here, now would I."

Leverrier didn't seem to appreciate the levity, though Komui caught one of the inspectors smiling. "Why would you exclude the inspector assigned to monitor your every movement from this particular activity?"

"There was no reason to risk him," Allen replied bluntly. "He does not possess an Innocence-type weapon. I felt I would be endangering him."

Beside Leverrier, Link sat up a little more stiffly, but otherwise said nothing. Despite waking only that morning, he had immediately requested to speak with Leverrier, and though he still seemed a little pale he also seemed determined to make up for it in presence.

"So you knew, when you abandoned your orders, where you were going?"

"Yes."

"And how exactly was that?"

Allen didn't look towards him, but Komui bent his head a bit, studying the papers in front of him before looking up. It wasn't exactly a nod, and he knew damn well that a good deal of that boy's anger was directed at him. Allen had been operating under the impression that they had gotten no leads on Kanda's whereabouts. Now he knew differently.

_How_ exactly he knew was a matter of debate, but Komui figured it had either been Lavi, or Allen had overheard something in the infirmary. No matter. Allen had been angry ever since he'd seen Kanda's reunion with Mugen, and Komui had never had any intention of asking Allen to cover for him.

"Komui contacted me." It didn't sound apologetic in the slightest.

All eyes swiveled to him, and Komui met them innocently.

Link began scouring paperwork while Leverrier rested his chin in his hands. "Is this true, Supervisor?"

"Yes, yes, of course," he said at once. "As we agreed, I sent Lavi and Bookman to follow up on the most recent lead. Once they were able to confirm Tiedoll's presence in Belgrade, I determined that Allen was the only Critical that could possibly have gotten there in time to do any good."

Howard Link cleared his throat delicately. "The paperwork you previously submitted has no record of such an order, Supervisor."

Komui frowned, shuffling through his own papers. "Really? I'm certain I submitted that with the rest of it, perhaps Bridget mislaid it when she brought the papers over-"

"You gave the papers directly to the inspectors," Bridget Faye muttered acidly at his right, but he ignored her.

"Regardless," Leverrier dismissed the obvious lie with a wave of his hand, "you must have known he would need to use the Ark to cross that distance 'in time,' as you put it."

Komui looked up, hoping the light was hiding his eyes from sight. "Of course I did. I have authorization from Central to approve the use of new Gates for logistical purposes."

That was stretching his authority mightily. He had authorization to make the request, and to maintain or move Gates at already approved sites. He also had extremely limited abilities to study the Gate creation in an effort to determine if they could use their Ark to infiltrate the enemy's – or the other way around.

"Dispatching Allen Walker on a mission that would require him to use the Musician's license is not within your realm of authority, Komui Lee, which the Vatican made extremely clear." Leverrier's voice was silky.

Komui tilted his head. "It wasn't a mission. We originally had no intention of sending Walker to Belgrade to investigate the lead. And in hindsight, even with the dispatching of another Critical to back up Tiedoll's team, they barely made it out of there alive."

Leverrier leaned forward. "What would you call that if not a mission? And knowing that General Tiedoll had been contacted by the Noah and was walking into a trap, you dispatched the one who can control the Ark and allowed him to make a Gate right on top of the suspected location of one of the Noah Clan?"

This was not an argument Komui wanted to have in front of Allen. "The Earl said it himself. We're entering the final act. The Heart is active in the world, possibly even here. If we allow the Noah to start picking the generals off one by one, and they succeed, it won't matter whether or not we identify the Heart, because we will no longer have the fighting force of the Exorcists to protect it."

"And what do you suppose will happen if we hand the Ark and the Musician back to the Earl?"

"Excuse me," Allen cut in mildly. "I don't think I will be handed to _anyone_, thank you."

Leverrier ignored him utterly, and Komui reluctantly followed suit. It was better for Walker that he stay angry, at this point. "I am saying that I believe, if we had taken no action, that allowing Tiedoll and his team to be overwhelmed would have been equivalent."

Ultimately, he was saying the loss of six Exorcists in one fell swoop would have spelled the end of the Order's ability to successfully beat the Earl. Lavi was young and the Bookman's apprentice but he was able to do an extreme amount of damage to a large area in a short time. Marie was exceptionally skillful, and Froi Tiedoll was a Critical. Bookman and Chaoji would have had no hope of surviving what killed those three, and Kanda-

Kanda was another story altogether. One he wasn't looking forward to hearing.

The inspector had a ready retort but he swallowed it, blinking quickly, before leaning back in his chair. "Need I remind you the Order has never had more than five Criticals in operation contemporaneously at any given time in its history." Then he indicated a piece of paper in front of him. "Earlier you heard the general's testimony regarding his strategy for extracting the Exorcist Kanda Yuu. Had you known his plans, would you have dispatched another Critical to support him?"

Komui inclined his head. "Had I known the general was so well prepared, I might not have felt the need to send another Critical. However, in hindsight, it was the right decision. We have never seen a Noah leverage that much firepower against any group of Exorcists before. And from a morale perspective, losing Tiedoll during a mission to rescue one of his pupils, losing six Exorcists in one night, it would have been devastating. Worse than Barcelona. My position as head supervisor over the Exorcists gives me the authority to dispatch those forces as I see fit."

Leverrier seemed to give something considerable thought, and Komui knew damn well that it wasn't his excuse. Even if it happened to be truth, his time as head supervisor was officially suspended, if not over. Disobeying the Vatican could not go unpunished, and protecting Allen was all he could do at this point.

"Be that as it may," the inspector finally allowed, "we are here to discuss Allen Walker's transgressions." He turned back to the bright boy in the center of the circle of tables. "Did you know at the time that Supervisor Komui did not have authorization from Central?"

He stared at the inspector in barely veiled shock. That was it? He was going to continue laying blame on Allen as if nothing had happened?

For his part, Allen seemed almost relieved that the focus had come back to him. "I didn't ask."

"Yet you know Central authorization is required for you to use the Musician's license."

"Apparently not," Allen observed dryly, and a murmur went up from the collected inquisitors at the insinuation.

Komui took a deep breath through his nose. It was a dangerous game Allen was playing, and he certainly had Leverrier's full attention now. "Are you saying that you would knowingly use the Musician's license even without Central's authorization?"

Allen cocked his head the other way, and Komui cleared his throat. "I think Walker was merely-"

"I didn't ask whether or not I had permission because I didn't want to know," Allen interrupted smoothly. "Supervisor Komui explained his reasons and I wanted to help General Tiedoll."

The inspector was not very happy at being derailed. "Did you want to help the general? Or ease your own guilt?"

It was all too easy to pierce Allen's heart; it was so large and so soft. It bled so easily, and though he had to be expecting it Allen still looked stricken. ". . . I-"

"Howard Link testified that prior to your sudden 'upset stomach' you had been discussing the abduction of Kanda Yuu. Clearly it was still on your mind."

Allen raised his chin. "It didn't matter who it was. I would have done the same for any Exorcist."

"Does that mean, if I were to give you an order never to create another Gate, you would defy that order if another Exorcist was to be captured by the Earl?"

Dangerous territory, and Allen was not bluffing when he answered. "The Pope himself said we cannot afford to lose any more Exorcists. That's the only reason I'm still a-llowed to function in this capacity." His tongue tripped only once.

Leverrier leaned back in his chair, lacing his fingers together on the table. "The restrictions under which you are allowed to function were made very clear to you, and it seems to me that you knowingly and willfully ignored them."

Allen bowed his head a little, taking his time, and his bangs shadowed his face from the bright lights above. "If disobeying those restrictions means I can save another Exorcist, then I am willing to suffer any punishment."

Komui froze at those words, and the other inspectors began to murmur. Allen did have one good point – the Pope himself was concerned with preserving the Exorcists, and it was the Vatican that had made the ultimate decision on Allen's fate. While using the Musician's license may or may not be bringing Allen closer and closer to the Noah that lived inside him, was one step worth saving six Exorcists?

"You will be punished regardless of your willingness." Leverrier's voice was sharp. "You will remain under guard until further notice, and confined to your quarters when not needed for additional questioning. Take him away."

-x-

**Author's Notes**: In my brilliance I thought I could cover Kanda's first day of questioning, which happens right after this, but then I looked at the length and decided that's a good thing for next chapter. It will make his interaction with Tiedoll make a lot more sense. In the meantime, Allen and Komui are on the block for doing the right thing . . . and believe it or not, this is only being included because it's STILL very important to Kanda later in the fic.

And a reminder, that I am offering a fic of your choice, any plot and any characters that I know or can write, to the reader that goes above and beyond to let me know what works, what doesn't, or seems to be having as much fun reading as I am writing.


	13. Chapter 11 CIM: Answers

Disclaimer in previous chapters. Please see Author's Notes at the end.

**NOTE**: This is a **CIM** (Curse is Magical) chapter. **CIM** supposes a curse can restore beyond what is capable by the human body. Please note that **CIM** and **CIP** chapters **will share some content****.** They will simply move in different directions.

-x-

_His skin grew grey, and the scars on his forehead became visible. And then he smiled at them._

_Both of the men took a step back; they might have never seen a live Noah before, but the descriptions and pictures they had seen in their studies were apparently sufficient. The lighter-skinned Finder was the first to speak, raising a shaking finger to point it at the suddenly not-quite-human standing so calmly before them_

"_N-Noah!"_

"_Me?" Sheryl laughed, affecting surprise. "Heavens no. Do I really look that old?"_

_His humor was lost on them, and with a squeak, the darker-skinned of the pair stumbled backwards, then turned around and began to run._

_A part of him knew it was coming. This 'walk' was a reward for his good behavior, and the chances of meeting a pair of Finders in a random forest were almost nonexistent. The Noah had chosen this place and this time because of these Finders. This was a test._

"_Oh my. It would be troublesome if he was to summon help. Would you be so kind, Exorcist?"_

_The lighter-skinned Finder looked at him again, as if confused, and Kanda ignored him, watching the fleeing Finder for a moment before darting into the woods to the right. The path appeared to curve up ahead, he could cut him off easily, but-_

_What did the Noah want? To continue questioning him? To 'silence' him by killing him outright, or merely removing his tongue and hands? He decided the best course of action was to force a more explicit command, and it was disappointingly easy to herd the man off the trail and into the trees, and then back to where the Noah and the other Finder were still standing, apparently either waiting for them or locked in conversation._

_The dark-skinned Finder whimpered when he stumbled back out into the sun only to find himself a few yards to the right of the Noah, and Kanda frowned, giving him a good swift kick that sent him sprawling flat on his face in the dirt road. The short run had winded him more than it should have, and he clamped down tightly on his breathing. The Noah might not realize how weak he still was, and he would pick up on every clue._

_The Noah glanced over at them, quirking his lips as the Finder simply cowered where he'd fallen. "And would you change your mind if I was to tell you that your fellow was about to suffer an exceedingly agonizing death?"_

_The lighter-skinned Finder was remarkably calm; he seemed vaguely familiar somehow. Perhaps he had accompanied him on a mission before. Either way he had a good deal of experience, unlike his companion; he had apparently not even attempted to flee._

"_I will not divulge any information no matter what you do to me. Or Marciel." He gave his companion a quick glance. "Sorry," he added, almost in an undertone, and the man whimpered into the ground, too frightened to even stand._

"_You must be careful of your phrasing, Finder," Sheryl chided the man. "That almost sounded like a challenge."_

_The Finder met Sheryl's gaze unflinchingly. "I will die here whether I betray the Order or not."_

_Oddly, the Noah gave him a rare, sincere grin. "You will," he agreed. "What if I offered you less pain?"_

"_And I'm supposed to hold a Noah to the honor system?" _

_Sheryl laughed outright, honestly delighted, and Kanda stepped forward, putting his foot in the small of the dark-skinned Finder's back as he tried to use the distraction to crawl away. His behavior was appalling, exactly what he would expect from anyone lesser than an Exorcist, and Kanda was unsurprised when the motion attracted the Noah's attention._

"_Your companion does not share your courage."_

"_. . . I'm sorry, my friend." Clearly not speaking to Sheryl, though Kanda never took his eyes off the still-squirming Finder under his boot. "I should have listened to you."_

"_A new recruit, perhaps?"_

_The Noah was hunting for information, the method he always used when he seemed to want only surface details, and prolonging the conversation of course prolonged their lives. They would fall into the trap of Sheryl's pleasantries because the alternative was to disappoint him, and even without past experience both knew they would not enjoy it._

_This was the method Sheryl would use to get information, then point out the Finder's lack of keeping his word before killing him. Or the method that would be used to prove the Finder's courage before killing him._

_In the end, their behavior really didn't matter._

_The dark-skinned Finder began to blubber, but his words were heavily accented and unintelligible. Sheryl listened for a moment before growing visibly bored. "While lying prostrate is the right idea, I don't believe I asked you to babble. Exorcist, would you please do something about him?"_

'_Something' was no less explicit than before, but Kanda drew the sword just the same. It wasn't balanced, wasn't even particularly sharp, and the hilt made his skin crawl. He knew well what it was made of , and now knew why it had been given to him._

_One, to see if he would make the mistake of raising it against the Noah or Akuma._

_And for this. To use a weapon of the Earl against his comrades. The Noah wanted to see if he held all agents of the Order in the same esteem._

_As soon as he heard the steel and dark matter being drawn, the dark-skinned man at his feet tried to flip over and upset his balance. He disallowed it; with the Finder's arms above his head and his chest pinned to the ground it was all too easy to locate his heart, and between the same ribs to cut his left lung. The right would deflate, and with no air and no strength there would be nothing more for the Finder to do but die._

_Sheryl cocked his head to the side, but the order had been clear, and his useless piece of leverage over the light-skinned Finder was no more or less useless than before. Nothing to be angry about. "That was effective," he commented, then turned back to the Finder that still stood so defiantly in front of him. "Do you know who just killed your companion?"_

_It was information, but apparently the remaining Finder didn't see any harm in giving it. "Yes." He turned to look at him, and his eyes were filled with sympathy. "Master Kanda."_

_Kanda simply stared at him, even when Sheryl nodded. "Indeed! And you, Exorcist, do you know the name of this pleasant fellow?"_

"_No, master." _

"_How very irresponsible of you," the Noah chided. "You should know the names of those that work around you. I make it a point to memorize the names of all my human servants." He paused a moment. "Though I suppose a Finder is not a servant of an Exorcist."_

"_Master Kanda would not allow such a thing," the light-skinned Finder admitted. "Though of course we would gladly do anything in support of our Exorcists."_

"_Yet you have seen this Exorcist murder one of your own." He seemed fascinated by the lack of anger or condemnation. "Aren't you angry that he has forsaken you?"_

_The Finder shrugged. "I am saddened that I was unable to prevent putting myself under his blade." The Finder bowed low, but not to Sheryl. "Forgive me, Master Exorcist, for what I have forced you t-"_

_The apology was extraneous, and the Finder was dead before he knew he had not been allowed to finish._

_Sheryl chuckled darkly. "Didn't care for his apology?"_

_Kanda found himself mirroring the dead Finder in a bow. "He dishonored you by acknowledging me, master."_

"_Hmm," Sheryl murmured noncommittally. "Come, human. Let us continue our walk uninterrupted."_

The memory was clear in his mind, but the light-haired Finders had never given his name, and at length he glanced at the bench where he assumed Leverrier was sitting. The present was much like the past; a blinding light was shining down on him like the sun, with no branches to dapple its intensity. The glare made it hard to see who was seated at the many tables that surrounded him, and he had thus far only been addressed by the voices of Inspector Leverrier and Howard Link.

From the sounds of murmurs and paper-shuffling, though, there were many people gathered around him. Probably Komui, probably his general. Probably the stupid rabbit and his old man as well, and dozens of people he knew as well as he knew the Finders.

He took a breath and spoke. Hadn't the inspector asked him a question? "I don't know."

There was another murmuring, it was too much effort to pick out voices and comments even if they had mattered.

"You don't know?" The inspector's voice was arch. "Perhaps you did not understand the question, so I will rephrase it. Did you or did you not murder seven Finders?"

The answer was yes and no, and he swallowed the sigh that he didn't have to. Not here. He didn't have to answer, either. But there was nothing to be gained from silence, and there was something to be gained by speaking. "I killed nine Finders."

The inspector actually missed a beat. "Who were the two additional Finders?"

"I don't know."

The rustling of paper. "Your records indicate you had traveled with Itziar Soto on twenty-two separate occasions. Do you remember killing him?"

"We can identify the Finders at a later date," a throaty voice interrupted. "Were you under the control of the Earl or a Noah at the time of the attacks?"

Kanda determined the question was meant for him, but he didn't turn from the filmy white light he was watching. "I was under orders."

"Orders?" Back to Leverrier. "From whom were you accepting orders? The Noah that orchestrated your capture?"

"Yes."

"And which Noah was that?"

Trust the inspector to ask the one question he couldn't answer. ". . . Master."

The room fell quite silent, and he imagined they were looking towards his general. Three men had carried that name from him. His sensei, the general, and a Noah. But it didn't sting as much as it should have, to admit that to the empty room with its empty voices and too-bright lights.

The purpose of this, he knew, was less to prosecute him for the deaths of nine unlucky Finders, and more to determine how much damage he'd caused and how much information he'd collected. They only wanted the highlights now - the rest could be gathered by a single inspector over the course of the next days and weeks. Kanda was glad of the speed with which they'd moved, and similarly glad of the venue; he could not see Tiedoll's face. The general would be unavoidable afterwards, but at least this way he would only have to hear the man's sniffles, rather than watch the entire breakdown. There was no sound of them yet, but it would happen sooner than later.

"He gave his name only as master?"

To answer that would be to lie, so he said nothing. The inspector was undeterred. "Why did you accept and obey his orders?"

"There was nothing to be gained by disobeying."

The throaty voice was back. "You do not feel the lives of those nine Finders had value?"

"He just said he was following orders, so it stands to reason the Noah was aware of the Finders and their locations, if not accompanying Kanda. If that's the case, those Finders were dead no matter what Kanda might or might not have done." It was the first time he had spoken, and Komui's voice was serious.

Leverrier allowed the interruption. "Was this Noah there with you during every attack on Order personnel?"

"Yes."

With that line of questioning effectively stymied, the inspector moved on. "Was he the only Noah you interacted with?"

That was an obvious question, and he heard the annoyance tinge his voice. "No."

"What other Noah did you encounter during your captivity?"

He counted mentally around the table that had held the Earl's dinner. Sheryl had never forbidden him from speaking of the other Noah, after all. "Nearly all of them."

This drew another loud murmuring.

"What about the Millennium Earl?"

He inclined his head without looking in the direction of the speaker, and the murmuring was instantly silenced.

"You had interactions with the Millennium Earl?"

"Yes."

"Describe these interactions."

Kanda blinked at the impression of motion behind the glare, like the motion behind the curtains of the Earl's summer home. "The Earl held a dinner for the Noah Clan. I was brought there and shown one of the Earl's Akuma armies in the hopes it would convince me of the futility of continued resistance."

"And what is your opinion of our chances, based on what you were shown?" It was the voice of Kloud Nyne, slow and thoughtful.

"He claimed the army I saw had a mirror on every continent. But even if that was a lie, we cannot defeat it at our current strength."

He expected an uproar, but Kloud continued as though she had expected it. "You were at Edo, so I do not think you would say such a thing without proper perspective. Describe what you saw."

"Level threes that covered everything but the sky for miles. Without a landmark to give me perspective, I would be guessing tens of millions." The shouting finally came, but he wasn't finished answering her question. "There were level fours visible, though scattered. The Earl claimed the level ones and twos were still loose in Europe, leveling up and distracting us from the main body."

The group was well behaved; one sharp word from Leverrier silenced the room once again. "You said that the Earl told you there was a like army on every continent. What else did he say?"

Repeating the conversation verbatim would almost be possible; it had been short and straightforward. "He asked me if the trap laid for General Tiedoll would be sufficient to defeat him." It would be disrespectful to refer to his general as anything other than his direct title.

"So you knew, at that time, what the Noah were planning?"

"Yes."

"Did you give feedback on that plan prior to the Earl's question?"

Kanda glanced up a bit higher, where he thought the inspector's chest might be. "Yes."

"Did you plan the trap that was laid for your general?"

Not in so many words. "No. I was asked to improve it."

"And did you?"

For the first time he wasn't sure how to answer. The end result had certainly not been the one he'd intended. "Not intentionally." But that wasn't exactly true either. "Originally master planned for three level fours. I made a recommendation of a fourth."

". . . why increase the number when three would have been sufficient?" Kloud wasn't pulling her punches. Three level fours, at once, was enough to defeat any one Critical.

"I recalled the behavior of the level four that evolved in England. I suspected increasing the number would increase the chance of the level fours fighting amongst themselves."

But it hadn't happened that way. He'd made the suggestion too early, and Sheryl hadn't trusted him. He'd kept one of the level fours back, and while they had gotten in each other's way to a point, it hadn't been enough. It was a risk that, if Tiedoll had come alone, wouldn't have done any harm.

But he hadn't. Seven idiots had come for him instead of one. Had that Crow not done what he had done, Sheryl would have handed the Earl the Order on a silver platter.

"How many level fours did you see in the Earl's army?"

"Hundreds."

"What else did you see?" It was the supervisor, this time to him directly. "Any Akuma that you hadn't seen before?"

Another difficult question. "I saw some unique shapes, but I do not know if they were level threes in a non-offensive form or another evolution of Akuma." It should have gone without saying that he had not had a chance to engage any of them.

The inspector let the science-types chew on that information while he continued. "And you told the Earl that four level fours would be sufficient to defeat your general."

"Yes."

"Were you specifically targeted with that end in mind?"

"Yes." If the end was to defeat General Tiedoll, Sheryl had made that quite clear.

Leverrier paused momentarily, and paper brushed against paper. "What else did the Earl have to say?"

"He congratulated the gathered Noah for completing their last missions, and informed them that the timeline was unchanged."

"What timeline?"

Unfortunately, the Earl had been vague, and to be honest, he wasn't actually sure if that was due to his presence or not. "He was nonspecific."

"Did he mention the Heart?"

"Only to ask if we had found it."

Another sharp muttering, that faded quickly. "What did you tell him?" Kloud sounded almost amused.

"I told him we had not."

The throaty voice was less entertained. "And did he mention the Musician?"

"The Earl did not."

Leverrier was onto him. "But the Noah did."

Kanda inclined his head.

"Who, and in what context?"

His answer was hard to formulate. "Master asked about Walker often. Rhode Camelot spoke of him on several occasions as well."

"Rhode Camelot . . ." Komui trailed off. "But she was killed on the Ark . . ."

And that was the only other detail they really needed. Part of him wanted to blame moyashi's damn soft heart on that, but it didn't really matter whose fault it was. The point was that they were unharmed.

Tyki's chest came to his mind, and Kanda wondered just how unharmed they really were. "Rhode Camelot and Skinn Boric are both alive and well."

-x-

Two defeated Noah, alive.

He tossed the files on his chair rather than his desk, which was frighteningly empty. Gone was his freedom to throw paper on every available surface; Bridget would not allow it. Thankfully she was still too angry with him to have followed him, but he pulled the door closed behind him anyway.

Ignoring the implications of the Noah's regenerative power, Inspector Leverrier was going to use their survival to crucify Allen Walker. Literally, if he could get away with it. Kanda had reported killing Skinn Boric, and he had paid a hefty price for that victory. Four of them had seen Rhode's death, and a Noah disintegrating into ash surely had to be death, didn't it?

If they could survive even that, then what did it take to kill one? Was it even possible? Or was it the Noah that chose to take a new host regardless of whether their previous was still alive or defeated? Tyki's existence was less extraordinary; he had been carried out of the Ark by the Earl, he had merely had to survive several Innocence-inflicted wounds. But the other two would have fallen into the same void as Kanda, Lavi, Chaoji . . . was it possible the Earl was able to reclaim them from that void with the other Ark?

There had to be another answer. Allen would not have brought them back as he had restored his companions. He loved Akuma, but it didn't stop him from destroying them. There would be nothing to be gained by saving the life of a Noah that was, for all intents and purposes, already dead.

And Komui refused to believe that the Musician was alive and well enough to have spared colleagues that had taken an active role in hunting him down and killing him after his failed attempt on the Earl. No, somewhere there was another answer as to why those two had survived.

His hand shot to his breast, removing the tiny book, and he headed quickly to the back wall of his workroom, tapping the number combination automatically as he scanned his notes. Kanda had given them few dates, not enough information. Nothing to add to his timeline save the meeting with the Earl, and a quick glance during the questioning had told him it hadn't coincided with any of the events he was tracking.

Kanda had not been significantly injured in his meeting with the Earl, then. A small blessing in all this. The wall in front of him slid away to reveal a second room, half the size of the first, and he stepped inside, grabbing the wide pen on the workbench and adding the Earl to his timeline of events.

Kanda told them it was warm, the Earl's summer house couldn't be in Europe proper. Komui replaced the marker, rummaging through dozens of rolled maps before the flapping wings of a golem registered between the rustling of the paper. It took another several seconds for him to realize why that soft fluttering noise seemed out of place.

Golems were forbidden from this room for obvious reasons; it was secret, and any number of staff could download and watch the footage on a golem. The only reason a golem would have breached the back room was because it was following an unauthorized visitor, to record his or her movements. And Komui could hear it flapping right over his left shoulder.

Which meant the unauthorized visitor was literally standing right behind him.

There had been no footsteps. There was no sound, no voice of triumph. It wasn't Leverrier. Or a subordinate, they wouldn't have been so quiet. It wasn't Kanda; he'd been escorted back to the infirmary for a final checkup before being confined to his quarters. Matron couldn't be done with him so quickly.

Supervisor Komui Lee was no Exorcist, but he had felt killing intent before, when the level four had found him worthy of death. What he felt now was a shadow of that, but the hair on the back of his neck was starting to stand on end, and he babbled the first thing that came to mind. "Think of Lenalee. She'd be lost without her big brother-"

And his silent visitor cut him off. "I am."

Standing was hard, and he couldn't bring himself to turn quite yet, so he unrolled the map he had chosen, at random, and leaned over it as his excuse. It only made the presence of General Froi Tiedoll that much more suffocating, literally pressing down on his shoulders.

And why not. They'd both seen Kanda. They both knew, without his having spoken of more than the most important facets of his captivity, a good deal of what had been done to him. The normally silent and uncooperative Kanda now answered questions. He exercised patience. But worse, he acknowledged Leverrier as having authority, and he was for the most part obedient to it.

Kanda had not merely been locked in a room and beaten from time to time. He had been forced to interact with his Noah captors regularly. He had been included in conversations and daily tasks, had been asked to complete tasks of his own. It went far beyond basic torture or even brainwashing. What had happened to Kanda was far worse, and whatever the specifics, the fact that they had accomplished it in six weeks –

But then, he knew how they had accomplished it.

"Where is it?"

So Tiedoll had been up to Kanda's quarters, then. Komui stared at the land masses on his random map without seeing them. "Safe."

Something heavy struck the bench. "Out of sight, out of mind?"

He had never heard such tightly coiled fury in Froi Tiedoll's voice, and he swallowed around a suddenly dry mouth. He didn't dare look to see what it was the general had deposited on the bench. It was probably Maker of Eden, and it probably meant he would rip the entire lab apart to find what he was looking for.

"It was never out of sight." Or mind. He was not struck down when he moved to the left wall, opening one of a series of wooden compartments. The entire wall looked like nothing more than a built out collection of shelves and drawers, but his predecessor had created a vault behind each one, locked with a rotating sphere that had to be rolled to certain numbers. The combinations were complex and he had rarely used the larger vaults but he had memorized this one long ago, and in only a moment he had it open.

The general could see, after all. See the timelines, see the map of the world on the opposite wall. It was just his worry talking. "His curse will become public knowledge. You know that."

Tiedoll chose to remain silent as the object in the vault was gently lifted out, and the golem that had been watching it remained folded inside, still recording. Carefully rotating the item, he used his elbow to close the vault door, then he turned, offering the article in his hand reverently to the general.

The hourglass was nearly balanced now. Seven of its petals lay at the bottom, swaying gently in the current moving it had created, and Froi Tiedoll inspected it for a long moment before tucking it safely against his chest. No shock, no yelling. No tears.

Not yet.

The tattoo had already warned him there had been a cost. Four of them. More petals had been lost from the lotus in six weeks than all the rest of the time put together. The general had already had an idea of what he would see when he was confronted with that hourglass. He would save his mourning until after he had seen to his pupil's comfort, just as he had remained silent and steadfast during the questioning.

But perhaps the general didn't quite realize, yet, just how hard tomorrow was going to be. Today they had merely asked him about the most important facets of his captivity. Who he had interacted with, if he had shared any dangerous or confidential information, and what he had learned of the Earl's plans. Tomorrow, Leverrier would take him back to the beginning, and force him to walk them through those six weeks, one day at a time. Force him to reveal every mistake, every weakness, every conversation and every interaction.

And Kanda as he was now might even tell them.

"He was taken on the fourteenth of January, during a mission with Allen Walker and Arystar Krory." Komui gestured at the timeline, clearly marking the date. Six days in there was an ugly red dot. "He lost the first petal there, on the nineteenth. The second was lost February 13th, the third February 18th, and the fourth on the 24th."

The general simply stared at the butcher paper that covered that wall, upon which dates, exact times, and events had been painstakingly recorded. His inspection paused on the twenty-first of January, where a green bracket had been linked it to next two days.

Sharp eyes. "Beginning around eight am, the hourglass underwent a series of physical shocks, that ended there, on the twenty-third." Another green bracket extended from Feb. 13th almost two days. "I don't know what it meant," he continued into the awkward silence. "The hourglass reacted physically to something. It almost fell off the bench at one point, the vibrations were so intense." Once he'd tethered it in clamps he'd still feared that it would crack. "It's only a guess, but I would imagine someone tried to separate Kanda from the lotus."

Tried and failed. The lotus had not appeared damaged by the activity, nor the wood or glass of the hourglass, but that hadn't prevented him from fearing the worst.

What it probably meant was that the enemy knew about Kanda's curse as well. The only aspect of it that he had protected was the flower itself. Neither Central nor the Earl knew of its existence, unless Kanda had told them. The Earl's magicians might know he was tied to something, which is why they would have tried to sever that tie, but in the end they would have no idea what the fetish was. And as long as Central believed the tattoo was all there was to Kanda's curse, there would be no investigation.

But it seemed as though the general was hell-bent on returning the thing to Kanda, and with him home, with him safe, Komui really didn't need to keep it under lock and key. Still, if the inspector saw it there and made the leap-

Like Mugen, that lotus had kept his hope alive. That Kanda was surviving. That they would be able to bring him home. But it had also served its purpose as a timepiece, reminding him that Kanda would only be alive for so much longer. That terrible things were happening to him, day after day, while they struggled to find him.

While _he_ struggled to find him.

He glanced at the wall map again, his failure. There were pins of every color decorating most of Europe and parts of Asia and the Middle East. Every lead, every possible sighting, every clue and even just hunches. He had called in so many favors with the Order and with groups outside of it, when Leverrier had tied his hands or began to observe too closely.

Two of those pins were in Yugoslavia. Two of those pins were practically on top of the Noah's estate, where so many Exorcists had fought and nearly died.

The heads of the pins had been painted red, to tell him that his informants had died, but the map was littered with red pins. More than he had had the time or resources to check. No site had been excluded, but he had put them in order of probability, and that estate had not been high enough on his list.

Beside the wall map was his neat handwriting, again on the butcher paper, detailing all events related to the pins. Dates, locations, names and places. A color key and personnel list. Tiedoll took it all in, the chill never leaving his carriage, and without another word he turned and left, the hourglass still clutched to his jacketed chest. The golem followed him obediently, and Komui listened to the wingbeats grow fainter and fainter before slumping bonelessly against the bench, gripping the edge with shaking hands.

-x-

**Author's Notes: **Sorry about the delay between chapters – it's much harder to write two chapters at once than I originally thought. And unfortunately we didn't get to see a whole lot of interaction between Kanda and everyone else, but I promise you next chapter will be chock full of it. Allen, Tiedoll, Marie, and Komui will all get their chances to speak with him.

At least we got to see a little bit of what Komui was up to during those six weeks, and possibly explain what might have seemed like OOC-ness. He wasn't idle, there just wasn't much he could do.

And that will not be the only flashback to the Noah, either. I hadn't been intending to bring the Noah back in the scope of my nice, short, simple fic, but so many of you have asked to see them again that I might be conned into carrying at least one version of this slightly further than I'd originally intended.

And my beta-reader, Silverfox2702, had this to add (and made me choke on my water):

Sheryl would have handed the Earl the Order on a silver platter.  
Eight Order members, Seven whole Exorcists, Six weeks of waiting, Five humans fighting~~Four Level fours, that pesky Level Three, Two Noah watching anna Tyki in~~na~~pear tree!!


	14. Chapter 11 CIP: Answers

Disclaimer in previous chapters. Please see Author's Notes at the end.

**NOTE**: This is a **CIP** (Curse is Physical) chapter. **CIP** supposes a curse can accelerate the normal healing capabilities of the human body, but not surpass them. Please note that **CIM** and **CIP** chapters **will share some content****.** They will simply move in different directions.

-x-

For a moment, she didn't think they were going to open the doors. Inspector Leverrier had told her to report to the infirmary in the morning, hadn't he? And this was the infirmary, the men's side, of course, she wasn't at the women's side, was she? Or perhaps she wasn't allowed in and was just supposed to place everyone inside in Time Recovery without really looking, because Kanda was sure to want his privacy right now, he had been such a private person before and-

"Are you going in or not?" the guard muttered, breaking into her train of thought, and Miranda Lotto found herself standing dumbly in front of doors that had been pulled open for her.

"Oh! Oh, yes, of course, thank you . . ." She beamed at them, ignoring their expressions on purpose, and hurried inside. They closed the doors behind her quickly, and she took another step into the room before stopping, uncertain, by the desk.

Chaoji Han was sitting there nearest the door, naked from the waist up.

Miranda averted her eyes instantly, ducking her head as soon as she realized what she was staring at. Oh! Heavens, if anyone had walked in on _her_ like that-!

"Oh, I'm so sorry! I'm sorry-"

But a quiet laugh slowly trickled through her mortification. "-right, Miranda-san. I'm just getting my arm re-wrapped."

The sailor looked quite at ease, sitting on the edge of a bed while one of the nurses bandaged his wrist and forearm. He had been injured in the fighting, having been one of the Exorcists that had gone after Kanda, and Miranda gave him a hesitant smile.

"Does it hurt terribly?"

He shook his head. Younger even than she was, he was a rather large yet short man. There were prominent muscles in his arms and chest that seemed to be hiding beneath a layer of what might have been called baby fat on someone else. His hair was under control today, and his feet were crossed at the ankles as he flexed his wrapped hand.

"Just a little stiff. I guess it got cooked a little bit. Reminds me of the time I got it caught up in rigging and the sails caught." Then he rubbed the back of his neck. "Not that a lady would know about such things," he added quietly, and she couldn't help a giggle.

"A lady wouldn't," she agreed, "but I worked at any job I could possibly find, ladylike or not. I once had a job recording the crates unloaded from the riverboats."

His smile might have been a little humoring. "I'm not sure I'd call this job any more ladylike, Miss Miranda."

"Maybe not," she agreed, as the nurse finished up with him. "But it gives me a chance to be useful. I think any job that gives me that is worthwhile."

In response, the young Chinaman glanced away, deeper into the infirmary, and she followed his gaze to a curtain drawn around a bed, behind which shadows were moving. "It's definitely worthwhile," he murmured, slipping on his shirt, and Miranda took a deep breath and squared her shoulders.

It seemed inappropriate to have a conversation with someone who was dressing. "Well, it was nice to see you again, Chaoji-kun! I'm glad you're feeling better!"

"You too, Miss Miranda," came the muffled reply, as the sailor tried to finish stuffing himself and his large wrapped arm into his shirt and speak at the same time. "Be careful."

She didn't really understand his warning until she'd plucked up her courage and approached the curtain. It was doubtlessly the correct patient; the large shadow of Marie was visible around the curtains, frowning deeply. He turned to her, his eyes focusing as if they could actually see her, and she gave him a smile as well, because it seemed polite and somehow like he knew.

"Good morning, Miranda," he greeted, in a much warmer voice than his expression would have indicated. "I think we're ready for you."

At his words, she felt confident enough to approach, peeking around the curtain. General Tiedoll was there, perched on the edge of the bed, trying to cajole a remarkably recalcitrant-looking Kanda Yuu into eating his oatmeal. He was staring at the spoon with a great deal of suspicion, actually leaning away from it in an obvious form of protest, and the general sighed.

"Yuu-kun, one more bite. Make your father happy."

Despite the fact that he too was younger than her, Miranda had never thought of him that way. Quiet, angry Kanda Yuu. He didn't like her, she knew, but in a way it made her feel better. He couldn't hate her for this any more than he already did, to him she was weak and stupid and mostly useless. He would hate that so many people had to see him like this, but at the very least he didn't seem to think of her as a threat. He glanced at her when she moved more fully into his view, but it was dismissive, exactly as he might have done if he was fine.

He _is_ fine, she reminded herself. Komui had said so. That he had healed as much as he could, and the memories and skills that he had lost would simply need to be relearned.

Until then, this was her chance to be useful to him.

"He can still eat under Time Recovery, General. Time won't stop for him while he's under the influence of my Innocence, so he can have meals at any time." He looked very thin to her, as if he had not been eating enough, and Miranda resisted the urge to come closer.

He wouldn't appreciate it once her Innocence had restored him to the way he had been right before his injury.

"He was never particularly fond of oatmeal," the general replied, sounding both disappointed and amused. "I was hoping it was a cultural dislike, but it would appear that he really doesn't like it." Regretfully the general set the spoon back in the bowl, beside which sat a bowl of what looked like miso soup. "If it is not too much trouble, I think Yuu would prefer to eat breakfast himself."

She nodded, extending her arm at once, and her Innocence responded. In only a moment she had taken on his time, and it was apparent when the process was complete. His eyes became hard and flat, and without a word to anyone, even his general, he picked up the bowl of miso soup and began to sip.

Miranda bowed her head, moving to step outside of the curtains. Chaoji was gone, and she decided that she could probably sit where he had been without being too disruptive when a warm hand caught her wrist lightly. Marie let her go when she jumped, but his expression was kind.

"You are welcome here," he told her. "Do not be shy."

She ducked her head, though he could not see how embarrassed she was, and after a moment she managed to clamp down on the urge to stammer. "I-I just don't want to be a bother."

"You are not a bother to anyone, and it is the fact that you believe that you are, and act like you are, that annoys him." He cut the harsh words with a blinding smile. "You have been assigned to him, haven't you? Is this therefore not a mission?"

It seemed a bad time to explain to him how she had reacted to her first mission, so she turned her back to Kanda, to give him some privacy, but remained beside Marie.

"I . . . you're right." The general murmured something she couldn't quite make out, and she searched for some topic of conversation. "Are you feeling better?"

A low, deep chuckle. "I am fine, Miss Miranda. Thank you for asking." But he seemed to sense her discomfort, because he stepped further from the bed and the sound of a quiet conversation. "There is something you shoul-"

He stopped suddenly and frowned more deeply, staring over her right shoulder with such intensity that she turned in spite of herself. The doors had opened, she hadn't even heard them, and it wasn't to let anyone out.

It was to let the inspector in.

More than one. Inspector Link was with Leverrier, as impeccably dressed as always, and it struck her how so many of those Order members, even Allen, had been injured but did not stay in the medical ward. Allen was having his bandages changed from his room, she was sure, and the general was far too worried about his pupils to take proper care of himself. Marie stood tall beside her though she could clearly see the outline of his wrappings through his shirt, and Chaoji had just left.

It was like Japan. The injuries they'd suffered on the ship had to be patched and borne because the greater fight was yet to come. Like they hadn't actually finished rescuing Kanda yet.

The inspectors didn't approach, stopping to speak with Matron, and Marie turned his face towards the bed. "Master," he said softly, but it seemed to be sufficient. Less than thirty seconds later Kanda passed by her, fully dressed and looking as though he had been up for hours. Then again, the long hair was gone, too short now to really even show bedhead. If he was unhappy that he hadn't had a chance to bathe he didn't show it, he simply walked towards the door, his general several steps behind.

And with no orders to the contrary, she followed. It was only when a brush of cool air chilled her left side that she realized Marie had not followed.

He wasn't allowed, then. And Kanda hadn't even greeted him, when it was clear he had been there for a long time.

Silently they marched down the halls, taking turns she hadn't even noticed before, until a set of double doors, guarded by men whose uniform marked them as specialized, came into view. A lone, straight-backed wooden chair sat beside the doors, and Leverrier paused, turning his head just enough for her to see the slope of his eye.

"You do not need him in sight to maintain Time Recovery, is that true, Miss Lotto?"

No. In fact, she was beginning to think he could be a thousand miles away and she could still do it, his time was so light. "Yes sir."

"Then remain here, if you would. If you are needed inside the chambers, you will be summoned."

And with that they party continued forward into what seemed impossibly bright lights, and she gave the guards a tremulous smile and did as she was told. Less than three minutes later she heard a gavel, and then silence.

And nothing else happened.

Ever so occasionally there was a rumble of voices, but by and large no sound escaped those chambers. It was so quiet that she could hear people approaching minutes before they became visible, and amused herself with trying to guess who that person was based on the click of the heel or the slap of a wider sole. Sometimes the person approaching turned off in one of the many halls of their new home, so there was also the game of trying to determine if they'd turned off and when-

When the first uproar came, it started her so badly she fell off the chair. It startled her more when one of those guards, easily four times more stoic looking than the ones that had been securing the infirmary, grabbed her elbow and hauled her helpfully to her feet.

"Are you all right, miss Exorcist?"

"Oh, yes, I'm-"

The man didn't let her finish, somehow managing to catch her elbow and steer her back into the chair without manhandling her. Then, even more strangely, he smiled at her.

"I expect that will happen quite often, miss Exorcist." Somehow he didn't make her seem as foolish as Chaoji had. "That Exorcist in there, is he a friend of yours?"

She just stared at him in shock. Part of her wanted to distrust him. He was clearly from Central, he had come with Inspector Leverrier and the only reason he'd be being nice to someone like her was because he wanted something-

But if that was all he wanted, it didn't really matter. She nodded, glancing unconsciously at Time Record. "Yes. He's a dear friend of mine."

The man made a sound of understanding, but didn't press her for details, and he turned out to be correct. Soon noise of varying degrees became semi-frequent, loud debates ranging from a few seconds to minutes. Whatever it was Kanda was telling them, it was obviously contentious, and it went on for hours. There was no break for lunch, which surprised her, but it wasn't as distressing as the lack of break of any kind.

"The washrooms are just down the hall on the left," the guard closest to her murmured, after she'd crossed her legs for the sixth time, and she gave him an embarrassed smile in reply. As it turned out, he was correct, but her timing was atrocious. She was just returning when she found the doors open, and already gone and far down the hall was the shape of Froi Tiedoll, his hair and stature unmistakable. She could only assume Kanda was in front of him, as he had been before, and she was gone down the hall after them before she thought to thank the guard for assisting her.

-x-

Two defeated Noah, alive.

Komui Lee tossed the files on his chair rather than his desk, which was frighteningly empty. Gone was his freedom to throw paper on every available surface; Bridget would not allow it. Thankfully she was still too angry with him to have followed him, but he pulled the door closed behind him anyway.

Kanda could not have been any clearer. Not only had he indeed been held captive by the Noah family, he had confirmed that Rhode Camelot and Skinn Boric were still alive and well.

Ignoring the implications of the Noah's regenerative power, Inspector Leverrier was going to use their survival to crucify Allen Walker. Literally, if he could get away with it. Kanda had reported killing Skinn Boric on the Ark before they captured it, and he had paid a hefty price for that victory. Four Exorcists had seen Rhode's death, and a Noah disintegrating into ash surely had to be death, didn't it?

If they could survive even that, then what did it take to kill one? Was it even possible? Or was it the Noah that chose to take a new host regardless of whether their previous was still alive or defeated? Tyki's existence was less extraordinary; he had been carried out of the Ark by the Earl, he had merely had to survive several Innocence-inflicted wounds. But the other two would have fallen into the same void as Kanda, Lavi, Chaoji . . . was it possible the Earl was able to reclaim them from that void with the other Ark?

There had to be another answer. Allen would not have brought them back as he had restored his companions. He loved Akuma, but it didn't stop him from destroying them. There would be nothing to be gained by saving the life of a Noah that was, for all intents and purposes, already dead.

And Komui refused to believe that the Musician was alive and well enough to have spared colleagues that had taken an active role in hunting him down and killing him after his failed attempt on the Earl. No, somewhere there was another answer as to why those two had survived.

His hand shot to his breast, removing the tiny book, and he headed quickly to the back wall of his workroom, tapping the number combination automatically as he scanned his notes. Kanda had given them few dates so far, not enough information. Nothing to add to his timeline save the meeting with the Earl, and a quick glance during the questioning had told him it hadn't coincided with any of the events he was tracking.

Kanda had not been significantly injured in his meeting with the Earl, then. A small blessing in all this, even if they didn't know yet when and why Kanda had suffered the damages he had. Today he had just given them the most basic of information. And that information had been staggering. Two presumed dead Noah, alive and apparently unharmed. An Akuma army containing level threes in tens of millions. The Earl pleased with a timetable that he hadn't described in enough detail for Kanda to even begin to figure out what it related to. A Noah captor that he referred to only as 'Master'. And the admittance that he had been questioned both about the Heart and the Fourteenth.

Perhaps even more terrifying, this was just the beginning of Kanda's interrogation. The worst, while not of such global importance, was yet to be shared.

The wall in front of Komui slid away to reveal a second room, half the size of the first, just as dark as his thoughts. As soon as he stepped inside, automatic lights flickered to life, and he grabbing the wide pen on the workbench and adding the Earl to his timeline of events.

Kanda told them it was warm, the Earl's summer house couldn't be in Europe proper. Komui replaced the marker, rummaging through dozens of rolled maps before the flapping wings of a golem registered between the rustling of the paper. It took another several seconds for him to realize why that soft fluttering noise seemed out of place.

Golems were forbidden from this room for obvious reasons; it was secret, and any number of staff could download and watch the footage on a golem. The only reason a golem would have breached the back room was because it was following an unauthorized visitor, to record his or her movements. And Komui could hear it flapping right over his left shoulder.

Which meant the unauthorized visitor was literally standing right behind him.

There had been no footsteps. There was no sound, no voice of triumph. It wasn't Leverrier. Or a subordinate, they wouldn't have been so quiet. It wasn't Kanda; he'd been escorted back to the infirmary for another checkup, before they had Miranda lift Time Recovery and drugged him back to sleep. Matron couldn't be done with him so quickly.

Supervisor Komui Lee was no Exorcist, but he had felt killing intent before, when the level four had found him worthy of death. What he felt now was a shadow of that, but the hair on the back of his neck was beginning to stand on end, and he started to babble the first thing that came to mind. "Think of Lenalee. She'd be lost without her big brother-"

And his silent visitor cut him off. "I am."

Standing was hard, and he couldn't bring himself to turn quite yet, so he unrolled the map he had chosen, at random, and leaned over it as his excuse. It only made the presence of General Froi Tiedoll that much more suffocating, literally pressing down on his shoulders.

And why not. They'd both seen Kanda. They both knew, without his having spoken of more than the most important facets of his captivity, a good deal of what had been done to him. The normally silent and uncooperative Kanda now answered questions. He exercised patience. But worse, he acknowledged Leverrier as having authority, and he was for the most part obedient to it.

And he wasn't behaving that way because Miranda's Innocence had magically granted him tolerance.

Kanda had not merely been locked in a room and beaten from time to time. He had been forced to interact with his Noah captors regularly. He had been included in conversations and daily tasks, had been asked to complete tasks of his own. It went far beyond basic torture or even brainwashing. What had happened to Kanda was far worse, and whatever the specifics, the fact that the Noah had accomplished it in six weeks – and then followed it with what should have been a lethal injury, the last in a series of injuries that should have been lethal -

Miranda's Innocence could return his memories, his skills, his language and his coordination, but it had failed to restore him to his best state. It seemed not even Innocence was powerful enough to give Kanda wholly back to them. What the Noah had taken from him was well and truly gone.

"Where is it?"

So Tiedoll had been up to Kanda's quarters, then. Komui stared at the land masses on his random map without seeing them. "Safe."

Something heavy struck the bench. "Out of sight, out of mind?"

He had never heard such tightly coiled fury in Froi Tiedoll's voice, and he swallowed around a suddenly dry mouth. He didn't dare look to see what it was the general had deposited on the bench. It was probably Maker of Eden, and it probably meant he would rip the entire lab apart to find what he was looking for.

"It was never out of sight." He was not struck down when he moved to the left wall, opening one of a series of wooden compartments. The entire wall looked like nothing more than a built out collection of shelves and drawers, but his predecessor had created a vault behind each one, locked with a rotating sphere that had to be rolled to certain numbers. The combinations were complex and he had rarely used the larger vaults but he had memorized this one long ago, and in only a moment he had it open.

The general could see, after all. See the timelines, see the map of the world on the opposite wall. It was just his worry talking. "His curse will become public knowledge. You know that."

Tiedoll chose to remain silent as the object in the vault was gently lifted out, and the golem that had been watching it remained folded inside, still recording. Carefully rotating the item, he used his elbow to close the vault door, then he turned, offering the article in his hand reverently to the general.

The hourglass was nearly balanced now. Seven of its petals lay at the bottom, swaying gently in the current moving it had created, and Froi Tiedoll inspected it for a long moment before tucking it safely against his chest. No shock, no yelling. No tears.

Not yet.

The tattoo had already warned him there had been a cost, beyond his current state. Four of them. More petals had been lost from the lotus in six weeks than all the rest of the time put together. The general had already had an idea of what he would see when he was confronted with that hourglass. He would save his mourning until after he had seen to his pupil's comfort, just as he had remained silent and steadfast during the questioning

But perhaps the general didn't quite realize, yet, just how hard tomorrow was going to be. Today they had merely asked him about the most important facets of his captivity. Who he had interacted with, if he had shared any dangerous or confidential information, and what he had learned of the Earl's plans. Tomorrow, Leverrier would take him back to the beginning, and force him to walk them through those six weeks, one day at a time. Force him to reveal every mistake, every weakness, every conversation and every interaction.

And Kanda as he was now might even tell them.

"He was taken on the fourteenth of January, during a mission with Allen Walker and Arystar Krory." Komui gestured at the timeline, clearly marking the date. Six days in there was an ugly red dot. "He lost the first petal there, on the nineteenth. The second was lost February 13th, the third February 18th, and the fourth on the 24th."

The general simply stared at the butcher paper that covered that wall, upon which dates, exact times, and events had been painstakingly recorded. His inspection paused on the twenty-first of January, where a green bracket had been linked it to next two days.

Sharp eyes. "Beginning around eight am, the hourglass underwent a series of physical shocks, that ended there, on the twenty-third." Another green bracket extended from Feb. 13th almost two days. "I don't know what it meant," he continued into the awkward silence. "The hourglass reacted physically to something. It almost fell off the bench at one point, the vibrations were so intense." Once he'd tethered it in clamps he'd still feared that it would crack. "It's only a guess, but I would imagine someone tried to separate Kanda from the lotus."

Tried and failed. The lotus had not appeared damaged by the activity, nor the wood or glass of the hourglass, but that hadn't prevented him from fearing the worst.

What it probably meant was that the enemy knew about Kanda's curse as well. The only aspect of it that he had protected was the flower itself. Neither Central nor the Earl knew of its existence, unless Kanda had told them. The Earl's magicians might know he was tied to something, which is why they would have tried to sever that tie, but in the end they would have no idea what the fetish was. And as long as Central believed the tattoo was all there was to Kanda's curse, there would be no investigation.

But it seemed as though the general was hell-bent on returning the thing to Kanda, and with him home, with him safe, Komui really didn't need to keep it under lock and key. Still, if the inspector saw it there and made the leap-

Like Mugen, that lotus had kept his hope alive. That Kanda was surviving. That they would be able to bring him home. But it had also served its purpose as a timepiece, reminding him that Kanda would only be alive for so much longer. That terrible things were happening to him, day after day, while they struggled to find him.

While _he_ struggled to find him.

He glanced at the wall map again, his failure. There were pins of every color decorating most of Europe and parts of Asia and the Middle East. Every lead, every possible sighting, every clue and even just hunches. He had called in so many favors with the Order and with groups outside of it, when Leverrier had tied his hands or began to observe too closely.

Two of those pins were in Yugoslavia. Two of those pins were practically on top of the Noah's estate, where so many Exorcists had fought and nearly died.

The heads of the pins had been painted red, to tell him that his informants had died, but the map was littered with red pins. More than he had had the time or resources to check. No site had been excluded, but he had put them in order of probability, and that estate had not been high enough on his list.

Beside the wall map was his neat handwriting, again on the butcher paper, detailing all events related to the pins. Dates, locations, names and places. A color key and personnel list. Tiedoll took it all in, the chill never leaving his carriage, and without another word he turned and left, the hourglass still clutched to his jacketed chest. The golem followed him obediently, and Komui listened to the wingbeats grow fainter and fainter before slumping bonelessly against the bench, gripping the edge with shaking hands.

-x-

**Author's Notes**: Like I said in the CIM chapter, I know you folks are dying to get to the good part – interactions with Kanda and a core group of those Exorcists involved. Allen, Lavi, Lenalee, Komui. It's coming, I promise. But first we had to get him at least cleared of any serious transgressions, and though it wasn't apparent exactly what he said in this chapter, if you want to look back at the CIM chapter, you can read Kanda's questioning in all its gory detail.

To be honest, I think pretty much everyone is reading both versions anyway, but I did warn you that one of these branches would be sad, and that aversion might have forced a few brave souls to choose just one path or the other. I'm rather curious – IS anyone out there only reading the CIP chapters?

At least we've gotten a glimpse of what Komui was doing, which should clear up some of the anger and OOC-ness that seemed to be prevalent in the beginning of this short, simple story. Komui tried, but his hands were pretty well tied.

I apologize for the lateness, and I hope this chapter wasn't too boring! I think you guys are really going to want to beat me after next chapter, though. ; )


	15. Chapter 12 CIM: Trial

Disclaimer in previous chapters. Please see Author's Notes at the end.

**NOTE**: This is a **CIM** (Curse is Magical) chapter. **CIM** supposes a curse can restore beyond what is capable by the human body. Please note that **CIM** and **CIP** chapters **will share some content****.** They will simply move in different directions.

-x-

"It is prior record that Kanda Yuu was taken by an Akuma through the enemy's Ark on the 14th of January. Inspector Howard Link and Exorcists Arystar Krory and Allen Walker were witness, having been dispatched on a mission with him to determine why a series of high-level Akuma seemed to be gathering in a remote city in Spain."

The inspector flicked a piece of paper aside, staring at the next. "Do you remember the day in question, Kanda?"

All eyes returned to the figure in the center of their circle of tables, staring at the feet of the bench Leverrier was seated behind. He was not bound, and no longer wore the light blue uniform of the infirmary, but the room's atmosphere was still very much accusatory. Yesterday's confessions had bought him no indulgence from the court.

"Yes."

"What happened?"

So Leverrier was going to make him start literally from the very beginning. This was going to take days, and was it really necessary to go into such detail with this crowd . . .? To Lavi's right sat the generals, only Tiedoll and Kloud, thankfully Sokaro wasn't there yet. Beside Tiedoll was Allen Walker, the only Critical not yet officially named to the generals of the Order, and the new inspector that had been assigned to him for the duration of Howard Link's recovery. Arystar Krory was there as well, both obviously being included to speak to Kanda's capture if necessary.

On Lavi's left sat Komui and his new barnacle Bridget Faye, as well as was Renee Epsteine and Luigi Fermi, the branch heads of North America and the Middle East, respectively. Everyone else in the room was either an inspector, guard or Central administration. And despite the exclusive group, Lavi was secretly betting that the details of what happened in this room would be HQ gossip within forty minutes of the first recess.

The old man beside him sighed deeply, tucking his hands into his sleeves. The formal chairs in the room were high and stiff, and Bookman's feet would have been dangling above the floor if not for the box Lavi had grabbed during recess yesterday, so Gramps wouldn't be extra cranky from swollen ankles later.

He was probably going to give Bookman plenty of other reasons to be cranky. 'Lavi' could not be dropped for even a moment, not in this crowd. He couldn't afford to do anything more than put forth a stone face, and this record was hard enough without yet knowing what it was Kanda had faced during his time with the Noah.

The samurai's voice was quiet but steady. "What do you want to know?"

Leverrier regarded the Japanese teen a moment. "Were you aware at the time that you were being specifically targeted?"

"No."

"And the Akuma that captured you took you by surprise?"

"No."

The inspector's eyebrows flicked up. "Explain."

"The Akuma didn't take me by surprise." A very Kanda answer, if not for his downright docile body language Lavi would have thought perhaps Komui or Tiedoll had begged him to be on his best behavior.

"You allowed it to capture you?" Leverrier managed to make it sound like a scoff.

"I blocked its attack on another." The inflection was off, as if Kanda had stopped before the sentence was finished. "It had been holding back, and I didn't move fast enough."

"I see. So you did not realize you were the target until it took you to the enemy's Ark?"

Kanda didn't say anything at all.

Link handed Leverrier a document and he made a show of studying it. "Based on the testimony of Allen Walker and Arystar Krory, you were wounded by the Akuma, and in your struggles with the Akuma you dropped your Innocence." He glanced coldly over the white page. "What happened when you arrived on the other side?"

For the first time, Kanda's jaw clenched. It was terribly visible, between his weight loss and the lighting, and Lavi was certain he was not going to answer that question, either. But his mouth opened, and his steady, quiet voice continued to fill up the silence. "I was beaten and asked to swear allegiance to the Noah clan."

A dark murmuring swept up among those listening, and Lavi stole a glance at Tiedoll. He was simply watching, the blinding interrogation lights making it hard to see his eyes. Beside him, Kloud was absently stroking Lau Jimin, and the bright-eyed simian had wrapped its tail around her wrist protectively. Allen Walker was hiding behind his bangs, and Krory might as well have been a stone.

"Who asked you to do this?"

Kanda did not hesitate. "Two Noah."

"Their names." It was silky.

"I did not see the one speaking. Tyki Mikk was the other."

Lavi fought to keep himself completely still. He knew from Yuu's injuries that Tyki had to be involved, had to have been the one to put the golems inside his body, but the confirmation was still painful. After their fight in Edo, he could not imagine that Tyki had gone easy on Kanda.

"And did you swear allegiance to them?"

"No."

Leverrier had obviously expected the denial "How did they respond to your refusal?"

"When I could no longer fight back Tyki Mikk placed a Tease in my left shoulder. I don't recall anything more until the next morning."

Howard Link made a note, while Leverrier folded his hands. "Did the Noah tell you why he was placing Tease into your body?"

With his hair so short, he couldn't hide behind his bangs as Allen was. "To incapacitate me should I attempt to leave the grounds."

So he'd known full well there were Tease in his body and that the moment he let them drag him off the estate that they would damage him. And even so, he hadn't put up a struggle, hadn't said a word to any of them. Lavi felt his eye widen when he recalled Kanda's shock after Chaoji's leap – that must have been the property line. And the swearing . . . because they hadn't gone off immediately? Had he been swearing because he'd never actually tested whether the Tease would stop him?

Another surreptitious glance at Allen showed the same shock Lavi had felt, though Tiedoll remained unmoved.

"Please, continue."

Kanda never missed a beat. "When I woke, they were gone. I was not restrained. A level one was nearby, and I was able to destroy it."

Another murmuring began, and Leverrier waved for silence. "Your captors were not aware of your curse?"

Kanda's jaw clenched again, but his face did not contort in rage. He did not look up or down, did not snap at the man for revealing his secret, did not so much as shift his weight. It was common knowledge by now; everyone in the room had a packet outlining the history of this event and the timeline between his injury four days ago and today was fairly clear. A normal human would never have healed, and Kanda had walked under his own power into the room.

Lavi was far more shocked at his lack of anger at being so coldly exposed. Kanda did _nothing._

"No."

"And that curse allows you not only to recover quickly from wounds, but also increase your speed and strength for short periods of time, at the cost of some of your vitality, is this also not true?"

"Yes."

"Even so, how did you destroy the level one without Innocence?"

Lavi stole a glance at Komui, who was not nearly as composed as Kanda. He had his hands braced on the table as if to stand, but there was no protest he could make that could stop the proceedings.

"I tore a piece of its armor off and used that to destroy it."

Oddly, the room fell perfectly silent, and Leverrier smiled mockingly. "How impressive. Once you were free, what did you do?"

"I was not free." Finally, there was some inflection, but it was muted. He was only mildly annoyed at the inspector's assumption. "I encountered two other Akuma before I was recaptured."

"Did you make other attempts at escape?"

Komui's hands had crept into his coat, and Lavi watched him in his peripheral vision as he jotted something down in a small book, no larger than a breast pocket. He replaced it after writing no more than ten characters.

"No."

Central's administration found this surprising. "Why not?"

Kanda inclined his head slightly to his right, towards the speaker. "There was no other opportunity."

"The science department received footage of you, far outside the Romanian border, armed and unbound. Explain how you failed to see that as an opportunity."

Komui stood, but Leverrier did not recognize him, staring intently at Kanda, and at length he replied. "The weapon was insufficient to defeat the Noah accompanying me."

The inspector glanced their way, and Lavi carefully schooled his expression. The panda had given him enough flak for taunting Leverrier, and now was not the time. "The footage Inspector Piek is referring to has been thoroughly reviewed, and has been confirmed as genuine. On the 17th of February Kanda Yuu pursued and murdered Thomas Dunn and Gaston Eudach just outside of Paris." He turned back to Kanda. " Which Noah was with you?"

Kanda was silent.

"Was it the second Noah you spoke of?"

"Yes."

"And the name?"

And then Kanda raised his eyes to meet Leverrier's, and repeated his statement from yesterday. "Master."

Leverrier was unmoved. "Yet you say Rhode Camelot and Tyki Mikk were both present during your time in captivity, as well as the Earl. By what name did they call him?"

Kanda did not look away, and he did not answer.

The inspector was having a hard time hiding his annoyance at continually asking the same question, and Lavi realized exactly why Kanda was behaving the way he was. This was not trauma, this was not reluctance to admit weakness or fault. This was direct refusal to answer the question.

He was not going to reveal the name of the Noah that had held him captive. And the why wasn't hard to figure out, either; that Noah had hidden in the shadows so that General Tiedoll would not see him, and refused to give his name at that time as well. He was an otherwise unknown Noah, and he wanted to stay that way.

And Kanda was going to respect his wishes.

Leverrier leaned forward, and Lavi watched Komui sink back into his seat.

"Silence is not acceptable. Give us the name of the Noah that was behind the plot to kill General Tiedoll."

Kanda said nothing.

"Kanda." It wasn't as gentle as Lavi had expected Komui to be. "Why will you not give us the Noah's name?"

His eyes flicked to Komui in a mannerism Lavi had seen a thousand times before. _So you are still in there . . ._

"He will take action to prevent his name or face from becoming known to the Order or to the Bookman Clan." There was no catch to his voice at all. He had made up his mind long before he had entered the room.

"How will he know whether or not you reveal this information?" Leverrier didn't seem to think that was a good enough reason. "Did he reveal the names or positions of informants within these walls?"

"It would be foolish not to make the assumption the moment he finds out the boy survived," Piek interrupted. "And if we are not to know his name, that must mean he could be located based upon it. He is a figure in the public eye, then, of stature."

"Or he has put something into motion that the Noah and the Earl do not wish us to be aware of," an older man, Inspector Ichibald, suggested. "If that's the case, and we're in danger either way, it would seem the prudent thing to do would be reveal everything you know to us as quickly as possible."

Kanda didn't look at any of the speakers, preferring to watch Leverrier, both acknowledging him as the authority figure and still refusing to answer, and at length the inspector stood, gesturing for silence.

"Kanda Yuu, refusal to cooperate is tantamount to treason."

"The boy just said he's refusing out of the desire to protect us." Kloud was lounging in the high-backed chair as though it was actually comfortable, still stroking Lau Jimin. "Besides, what else do you propose? Torturing the information out of him?"

She said it so cavalierly, and Walker started in shock, eyes wide.

They'd threatened to do the same to him, before Cross had put a stop to it. He really was naïve, if he thought he was special in that regard. Leverrier was not going to tolerate anything but complete cooperation from Kanda, and it looked like there was enough of him left to understand that and risk it anyway.

Perhaps there was little he thought the Order's interrogators could do to him that the Noah had not. Then again, it seemed the Noah had enjoyed some measure of success.

"It is not the Exorcist's decision to share or withhold information, nor upon which information we should act," Leverrier responded icily. "I will ask a final time, and you will answer. What is the name of the Noah that targeted General Tiedoll?"

There was a tense silence. Kanda did not look away, and when Leverrier took a breath to make good on his threats, Kanda answered.

"Exorcists make decisions on what information to act upon and what information to ignore on a daily basis." Somehow it lacked his trademark arrogance. From Lavi's angle, Kanda's face was totally expressionless.

"Forgive me for not trusting your judgment," Leverrier snapped, and beside Lavi, Bookman sighed again.

"There is little to be gained by revealing the identity, but much to be risked?"

Kanda inclined his head slightly towards them, then gave a nod. "His last mission is complete. He will use an alias for the next."

"What _can_ you reveal about him to us?" Kloud's infinite patience was very soothing to the process. "His Noah abilities, for instance, if you cannot risk giving us his name?"

Leverrier was tight-lipped but he allowed the question, and Kanda's eyes dropped towards the floor as he thought.

"I am not certain. He . . . is uncannily talented at sensing duplicity."

Duplicity. Lying.

"How do you mean?"

Oddly, this time Kanda left his eyes on the ground. "It is nearly impossible to mislead him. Tyki Mikk said that he would be called the Noah of Envy, if such existed. He is skilled at manipulation."

It only made sense, that those who excelled in manipulating people were thus difficult to manipulate themselves. But envy . . . was he manipulating people to gain what they had? Perhaps the Earl was using him to secure capital in the human world?

"And you do not think he has manipulated you into believing he can or cannot know how you will act in this situation?" Her voice was kind, though the words were anything but.

Kanda did not look up. "He has an ability of prediction that rivals Hevlaska's."

This drew surprise from several members of the court. "Are you saying this Noah is clairvoyant?"

The samurai was silent.

Manipulation and clairvoyance . . . Lavi leaned back in his chair, disliking the trail of his thoughts. The other Noah did have supernatural abilities, and Rhode's ability to pull so much of his past into his dream was proof that there was some kind of telepathy at work. Perhaps the Noah was indeed something of a clairvoyant, but at the same time . . . it couldn't really be called clairvoyance if you manipulated someone into a predictable action down the road.

"What else?"

Kanda hesitated. "Physical strength rivaling any human's. He did not display any other abilities in front of me."

All of the Noah were inhumanly strong, and recovered from injury quickly. Possible clairvoyance wasn't much to go on. Then again, quantifying Rhode's abilities was just as difficult.

Leverrier didn't seem particularly happy about letting Kanda off the hook regarding the Noah's name. "We will recess. Allen Walker, Arystar Krory, you are dismissed. Remove Kanda Yuu from the chambers as well for the duration of the recess."

While they deliberated on whether or not to continue his questioning in another venue.

-x-

A year ago, if someone had told him that he would be blindly following an inspector from an interrogation room, holding back tears over Kanda Yuu, he would have checked that person for fever.

Yet here he was, barely able to even see where he was going, barely aware that Krory was speaking to him. He felt sick to his stomach in a way that reminded him of the train, wondering what it was that had allowed Kanda to be caught –

And it was one of them. He'd been right. Kanda had stepped in the way of an attack meant for someone else and in doing so left himself open. And even though he'd been targeted, been taken specifically for the purposes of getting to Tiedoll, Allen didn't feel any less guilty.

He felt more guilty. So arrogant, to think he could take on whatever the Noah had to dish out, after he had failed to stop a level three from taking one of his comrades. That while he had been waiting for Krory to wake up Kanda had been battered until he couldn't move, on top of that terrible injury, and -

And that was only the first day.

It was one thing to let Kanda face his Innocence on his own terms. But to sit there and do nothing while he was forced to stand in a circle and take the equivalent of a verbal pummeling, to do nothing while he was forced to retell all his weaknesses, to reveal his shame to a room full of strangers. To have his secret paraded in front of them so indifferently-

And he didn't do anything. He had sat there, not even asking a question of his pupil. How could Tiedoll consider this the same? What good was he doing Kanda by showing him absolutely no support?

How could anyone argue that Kanda was answering these questions on his own terms?

If not for Krory, still murmuring in that accent of his, Allen would have thought he had been brought here not to add details to Kanda's capture, but as a warning, that the same could happen to him. Torture for refusal to cooperate. Leverrier had made certain that was obvious, the reason for the recess, yet Kloud and Tiedoll didn't even so much as exchange a glance, and did not budge from their chairs.

If the generals would not protest such behavior, and Komui couldn't –

The memory of Tiedoll touching his arm, during Kanda's 'testing' down in Hevlaska's chambers came to mind, and Allen swallowed quickly, trying to appear unaffected as he approached the outside doors. Everyone was already so confused and suspicious, if he left upset it would only fuel the fire -

But he _was_ upset. And disinclined to allow anything else to happen to Kanda. Not when he was home. Not when he should have been safe. And disinclined to keep his silence, since he was already in such a terrible position. It wasn't as if he could really get into any more trouble than he already was.

He turned, not really sure what he meant to do, and an immovable arm snaked around his shoulders, dragging him forward with such strength he almost tripped and fell flat on his face.

"-ot listening at all, are you, Allen-kun."

He stumbled as the tug tore at barely-healing wounds, but still he glanced back into the room proper. Kanda was being flanked by his own guards, to be escorted from his bright circle, and Krory startled him with a chuckle.

"He would not appreciate your sentiments, Allen." For someone who knew so little about social interaction, when Krory did delve into human nature, he was occasionally frighteningly accurate. "To need to be rescued not only from the Noah, but from his own side . . ." The vampire gusted a sigh.

Allen stopped, forcing Krory to do so as well or drag him bodily from the room. It jarred his injuries again but he didn't care. "Krory-"

"Allowing their attacks shows your support, Allen-kun. You must trust him to win this battle, as he was unable to win the one before." The taller Exorcist glanced forward, at the inspector waiting impatiently for them at the door. "He has chosen to remain silent on one issue. Doesn't that mean that he could have remained silent the entire time?"

Allen stared at him.

There were too many teeth in Krory's smile to reassure. "Perhaps you did not notice, being as kind as you are, but I do not mistake bloodlust in others. You need not worry that General Tiedoll will prevent the good inspector from being too . . . insistent for his own good."

He let himself be dragged towards the door, even through it, and Krory let him go. "It was good to see you again, Allen-kun," he murmured, a bit louder than before. For the new inspector's benefit. "I see I won't need to worry about you."

Allen barely had time to give the other Exorcist a nod of gratitude before there were muffled footsteps behind him, and he turned to find himself almost face to face with Kanda.

The party stopped, partially because he was blocking the way, and partially to ensure there was enough space that the two most dangerous Exorcists in headquarters couldn't get close enough for one or the other to touch. Still, Kanda's blank look focused, studying him as intently as he might have six months ago, and like in the elevator, Allen was again struck with the need to speak.

To apologize.

"Kanda, I-"

"It wasn't you," he interrupted dismissively, glancing at the inspector behind Allen in apparent annoyance. As if to signal him to hurry his charge along.

It was too cryptic to place, such a typical response, and then Kanda's eyes came back to his once more, even as Allen felt pressure on his left shoulder, and the Japanese teen's handlers moved to sidestep around him.

Though he allowed them to guide him, his eyes never left Allen's face. "Don't let Rhode capture you alive."

Allen stared after him in shock, but Kanda was hurried down a hallway Allen had never explored, and his own inspector – Nikolai something, a Russian as cold as his homeland – hauled him in a different direction with all of Krory's strength and none of his consideration.

"Kanda-"

_It wasn't you._

The one that Kanda had taken that blow for. The one that Kanda had allowed himself to be captured for.

Allen backpedaled so that he could watch where they took the other Exorcist, but all too soon Nikolai had him turn the corner, and in the glass of one of the storage room doors, the Fourteenth smiled at him.

-x-

He wasn't the first one there.

Noise Marie cocked his head a moment, placing the breath before the heartbeat. Even with something so quiet as an exhale, the shape of the throat and voice was carried. It was as easy to tell the sweet sound belonged to Lenalee Lee as if she had announced herself to him.

"Good evening, Lenalee."

"Oh!" Her surprise was not at his approach, he was sure, but rather had to do with what was in his hands. He knew that the 'formal questioning' of Kanda had gone well past its scheduled close, and that no dinner had been served. Likely there would be a late meal, but more likely that meal would exclude Kanda. He was no longer confined to the infirmary, as there was little physically ailing him now that could not be addressed with proper food and rest, so chances were he would be confined to his quarters and if that was the case, better to have dinner waiting for him.

Jerry had thought so too, and so the box had been covered to keep the hot food hot and the cold food cold. It still smelled quite nice, though, and he was hoping after such a grueling day of speaking that Kanda would be looking forward to it rather than too unhappy to eat.

He had touched him, carried him in the snow and knew how much weight he had lost. He had listened to other people's reactions upon seeing him. And Kanda had not been with them long enough for his heartbeat to shift back to the rhythm that he had known before. Kanda was still a stranger to him.

And would be to Lenalee, who had known him almost as long.

"Hello, Marie." A faint ruffle of cloth, a gesture. "He . . . didn't get a chance to eat dinner?"

Marie shook his head, smiling in her direction as he took a seat on the stone floor by Kanda's empty quarters. The bento box went into his lap for safekeeping. "I assumed he would not tolerate the bustle of the cafeteria this late, as it will likely be filled with the same people he has spent the day with."

Lenalee hesitantly joined him, sitting delicately against the opposite doorframe. Her Innocence no longer clunked heavily against the stones as she balanced her heels there; now there was only the whisper of leather.

Because the Dark Boots were no longer Dark Boots. They curled around her ankles like Chaoji's Innocence, unforged by the Order, encircled his wrists. Lenalee was wearing shoes, slippers from the sound of them. Then again, her quarters were on the same floor. So she was not here on business. Perhaps it had been a hope, or a guess like he had made, that this is where Kanda would end up, and it would be soon.

"You have eaten, though, haven't you?" It probably wasn't too late to get her something, if she was hungry-

Lenalee gave him a nervous giggle. "I ate earlier," she said, but her voice was quieter. "I'm . . . I'm glad Kanda won't have to eat dinner alone."

Marie let his head rest against the doorjamb. "I think he would rather. But given his choice of companions, I am certain he would prefer us to the guards."

She took a quick breath. "He's . . . still under guard? But-"

Marie nodded, interrupting her silently. "These halls are new to most of us, but I do not recall so much lighting down this corridor even yesterday. Nor so many golems." The buzz of electricity had almost doubled, and there were a dozen pairs of wings out there, not counting the ones that had found a ledge to hide on so they weren't wasting power.

Lenalee made a soft, unspoken 'oh' sound as she glanced around and confirmed it for herself. ". . . why?"

A question she knew the answer to. "Have you seen him yet, Lenalee?"

She drew herself up in response, he heard her spine crack. "Matr- . . . Brother wouldn't let me see him." She added a bit of chill to her tone. "And when he's not in the infirmary he's out of sight. Is . . . is he . . .?"

It was too hard to guess what she was asking, so he didn't even try. _Like Edo changed you, this changed him._ And not for the better, it could be argued, for either of them. But Marie could not say that to her, even if it was true. "I was not allowed anywhere near the room for fear I would eavesdrop, so I cannot say what has been going on. He will be here soon. You can ask him then."

She subsided, but reluctantly, and Marie pondered another line of questioning. "You sound unhappy with your brother."

A rather huffy sigh this time. "I am," she said shortly, and plenty loud enough for the golems to pick up. "And I'd rather not talk about it."

Marie felt his eyebrows raise. _That_ was a first, but then again, he was rarely so nosy. "Then we shall not," he promised. There were footsteps, five pair, and one of them was doubtlessly master. Just by the elevator. "It seems our waiting was not in vain."

As he expected, she stood quickly, but didn't move from her spot by the doorjamb. Perhaps she didn't want to seem too eager, guessing that Kanda would not like a fuss. This was probably too many already; if one of those people was master, and one was Kanda, the other three were guards? Surely they would allow him to be alone in his own quarters, there was no need to keep him under constant surveillance as they did Allen Walker-

He was paying dearly for his transgression, Marie knew. If not for his injuries Marie was not certain Allen would be visible at all, but retrained in a much less public area. His Innocence was parasitic, he could not be disarmed and so restraint would include magic. His surveillance was constant and doubtless his new inspector would not make the same mistake Howard Link had, to allow Allen that one brief opportunity to do as he had done.

Use the Musician's powers. Use them to thwart the Earl, and to help the Order, but use them nonetheless. Though he was grateful, Marie wasn't honestly sure it had been worth the consequence. Then again, as much faith as he had in his general, and himself, knowing what he did now about that trap . . . whether they would have survived that night was just a guess.

"Marie . . ." He heard fabric being scrunched in her fists. "Is it . . . is he . . ." She broke it off in a shaky laugh. "I'm nervous."

He kept an ear on the approaching party, wishing one of the mystery people would speak so he could identify them. "I think I would have been too, if not for the Noah." Then it occurred to him that she probably didn't really know . . . well, anything. Didn't know where he'd been, didn't know any of the details of the rescue save the return . . . she really had no idea what to expect at all.

But the fact that a Noah was involved didn't seem to surprise her. "Is he going to be okay?"

Marie smiled at her. "I like to think so."

She didn't say anything after that, taking deep breaths, and eventually he stood as well; master would scold him if it had looked as if he'd been waiting long. The golem activity increased as motion came from up the corridor, and soon enough they were in direct line of sight, their sounds coming directly from them instead of bouncing off walls and doors to his ear.

Behind him, Lenalee gave a little gasp.

"Evening, Marie- . . . Lenalee!"

Marie almost shook his head. Of course, he should have recognized Lavi's boots. It was the red-headed Bookman that was walking beside Tiedoll, still apparently oblivious to the fact that master wanted very little to do with him. He tolerated the young Exorcist for Kanda's sake, but he was very obviously disapproving of Lavi's constant proximity to Kanda. Marie made a mental note to try to explain the relationship to their general after they left Kanda for the night.

And if one of those three was Lavi, it meant Kanda was trudging stiffly between the two inspectors that had been assigned to guard him. Not the same ones that had been watching him in the infirmary, either.

Kanda's gait was recognizable but shuffling; they'd made him stand too long, and despite regular meals and medical care, he was still weak. Much weaker than either of them had expected. And it seemed even the beautiful Lenalee Lee couldn't put a spring back in his step. Either he no longer had pride enough to care how he looked, or he simply didn't have the energy to put on a show for her.

And Marie knew that she saw it. She had never been stupid.

Tiedoll gave them a pleasant smile Marie was pretty sure neither of them saw, and he moved out of the way of the inspectors, not wanting to seem as though he was there to interfere with them. So long as they allowed Kanda the bento box, he would be satisfied. Neither he nor Lenalee was formally greeted, and the inspectors passed between them to open the door to Kanda's quarters. Oddly, one stopped in the hallway, with an arm barring Kanda from moving further while the first continued inside, presumably to inspect the room.

Lenalee took advantage of the pause. "Welcome home, Kanda."

Kanda didn't say anything, not even shifting his weight, and Marie sensed more than heard his general stifle a sigh. "I missed you," she continued, fighting for her composure, and the Bookman's apprentice moved around both Kanda and the second inspector towards her. But she shook her head sharply.

"I'm fine, I won't cry . . . I know you hate it." She laughed a little, then he heard her deftly wipe her eyes. None of them commented.

Would Kanda say nothing to her? Not even a greeting for an old friend who had worried so much over him?

". . . your hair is shorter than mine again."

The back of Kanda's neck brushed his collar as he raised his head a little. "Tch." But there was no heat. If she had overstepped her bounds, he didn't show it.

"I thought you might like dinner," Marie interjected politely. "That is, if the inspectors are agreeable." Or if they were not.

Almost as if waiting for his question – and who wouldn't be, the entire hall smelled of the meal – the second inspector reappeared in the doorway. "Kanda Yuu." Very formal, very English, but at least they still put his name in the order he preferred. "You are hereby restricted to your quarters until further notice. No one but authorized personnel may enter. Guards will be posted to your door until such time as the restriction is lifted."

That was neither a yes or a no, and perhaps it was the failure to address the question directly that finally snapped Tiedoll's patience. "But what of his door?"

Neither inspector was foolish enough to ignore such a high-ranking Exorcist. "General?"

"Does his door have to remain closed?" Heavy fabric moving, a sweeping gesture. "We are not allowed to enter, and presumably he is not allowed to leave, but can the door remain open?"

Thus allowing conversation, and on Kanda's terms. Since the door opened to the inside, he could shut it if he did not wish company, or retreat further inside. Despite his occasionally overbearing behavior, their general truly was a thoughtful person.

This apparently stumped the first inspector. The second seemed older, and perhaps more experienced. It was the first time Marie could remember him speaking.

"The locking mechanism has been removed from the door to prevent delayed entry," he stated, seemingly unnecessarily. "Does the door have a tendency to swing open?"

"It does tonight," Tiedoll replied levelly.

"Duly noted. We must inspect any gifts," the second inspector added immediately, the price for the favor, and Marie inclined his head and held it out. The top was removed, but nothing was touched. Not that a weapon could have been hidden in such a bento box; there was all manner of food but in bite-sized quantities. Jerry had included everything he could think of to pique Kanda's interests and appetite, and apparently it was quite colorful and appetizing to look at as well.

"I'll go grab a low table-"

"Don't." Kanda's voice was tired, without steel. As if he would not fight if Lavi insisted. But Lavi didn't push the issue, and without another word from anyone Kanda walked stiffly into his quarters.

Lenalee stifled something, possibly a word, and Marie stepped forward between the inspectors, offering the box. To his surprise, Kanda took it immediately, and without even getting himself a cushion, he knelt at the interior edge of the door and placed the box in his lap.

". . . or you could sit on the floor for no reason," Lavi finished slowly. "I know you've got a mat in there."

"Tomorrow," Kanda muttered, sliding the chopsticks from their sleeve. ". . . thank you, Marie."

Kanda had not thanked him for a meal since they were children, and even then it was rare. He was more exhausted than he looked, or perhaps he hoped their concern for his comfort would run them off more quickly. Probably a mixture of both. "You seem tired."

He felt a look, though Yuu dropped it after a moment to take a bite of something, and Lenalee clutched at her skirt hem again.

"It's Leverrier, isn't it." Marie almost shushed her; talking of what he had only just left would surely turn him off the food, no matter how hungry he might be. It was patience he couldn't possibly have that was keeping him there at all. But Lenalee was determined to use this opportunity to its utmost. "He's been here a long time now."

Kanda swallowed and surprised Marie by selecting another bite. _He expected this_, he realized slowly. Yuu had already resigned himself to dealing with his general, and even this conversation was better than listening to their master cry. If he was right now he was being very subtle about it, standing further from Kanda than any of them.

Contributing to the illusion that they four were alone. Like the inspectors, Tiedoll was letting himself fade into the background. Marie almost smiled to himself as he realized the only reason the inspectors seemed to be invisible for him was that they were so quiet, and perhaps if he could see them they wouldn't seem so relatively unobtrusive.

"I didn't run." Lenalee added a smile to the enigmatic comment, still ignoring the tears he could hear dripping onto her clothing. "I didn't have anywhere to run to."

The chopsticks tapped the bento box. "Che. If you haven't gotten it by now you won't."

Marie felt very much the intruder, and given lighthearted Lavi's silence, he wasn't any more in the loop than Marie.

". . . why?" Gone was the footstamp that would have accompanied that even a year ago; Edo had changed her greatly, more than Marie had realized. "Why are they locking you away? Why are you letting them?" She took a step forward, ignoring the nearest inspector shifting his weight. "Why is brother-"

"He can't do anything about it," Kanda said shortly, cutting her off.

"You know Leverrier." Lavi made it sound like a joke. "I think he's just cranky because we endangered his precious little protégé."

An astute observation, even if he was using it to distract both Yuu and Lenalee. Leverrier had been very careful about how he had ignored Link in the infirmary, but his quiet comments to Matron had not escaped Marie's ears. He supposed, if he was a cynical person, he would assume it was concern that details would be lost if Howard Link did not recover.

But it wasn't just questions on whether Link would be able to speak. Leverrier thought his concern could be used as a weapon, hiding it perhaps even from Link. In many ways he was Tiedoll's mirror opposite when it came to his apprentices.

"Link sort of overdid it helping us get out of there," Lavi explained quickly, since Lenalee had no idea what he was talking about. "Toothbrush Mustache's apparently got an overprotective streak in him. Who knew."

Lenalee made a small noise of acknowledgement. "But it's not just Leverrier." The same bitterness – she was referring to Komui. "Half of Central Administration is here, and-" Lenalee stopped herself, composed herself. "I. . . I couldn't protect our last home until it was almost too late." Her voice was very soft. "But this one-"

"You had someplace to run." Kanda set down first the bento box, then his chopsticks, and only then did Marie realize he had forgotten the tea.

The redheaded Bookman took a preparatory breath, but he held it second after second and never spoke. Odd, that he was talking so much when there was such a thing going on in front of him. Like he wanted to be a part of it.

"I . . . couldn't." She bit her bottom lip. "And now I don't want to. Kanda, he knew-"

One of the inspectors coughed loudly, startling them by reminding Lenalee and Lavi that they weren't merely statues or golems. Apparently giving Kanda more information than he had was off limits-

So Komui _had_ known.

"I know." Kanda took a deep breath from the diaphragm, stretching his tight stomach after putting more food into it than it was accustomed to. "He was protecting you. All of you." He didn't bother to raise his voice to include them.

"No!" Lenalee's voice broke. "He should have been protecting _you-_"

"He couldn't." Kanda got to his feet gracelessly. "He knew that. So do you."

"No!" she repeated, louder still. "You were gone for so long! I don't care what Leverrier threatened, brother left you there! Don't you dare forgive him!"

One of the inspectors moved forward, and Marie heard his general follow suit. Before either could address the issue, Kanda took a step back, putting his hand on the doorknob. Just the motion was enough to silence all of them.

"We can leave," Tiedoll spoke, gently, into the quiet. "Your home should not feel like a prison."

Said for both their benefits.

Kanda paused. "I prefer it closed." He might have looked at them, or only at Lenalee, openly despairing now, but after a few moments the only sound was the door, softly closing. Lenalee started to cry in earnest, into something – Lavi's shoulder. Tiedoll remained where he was, and Marie picked out the hiss of Kanda's feet slipping out of his boots, then the rest of his clothes following suit.

That was all they were going to see of him, at least tonight.

Tiedoll wriggled his upper lip, as he was wont to do when his tears were tickling in his mustache, and Marie gave a soft sigh.

"Goodnight, Kanda."

-x-

**Author's Notes**: Long wait, I know, but a long chapter! And interaction! Revelations! Komui is in such deep trouble . . . CIP chapter to be coming shortly, but considering they share almost zero content this time around, I will be posting this one now and the CIP possibly as late as tomorrow night. I'm working on it, but several of you have hinted :cough cough: that you are sad that you have to wait until I get two chapters done before I put them out.

So consider this a little experiment. If you prefer to get them as I write them, instead of two at a time, then you'll have to tell me. Conversely, if you like getting them two at a time, you'll have to tell me.

(Totally non-obvious fishing for comments, right? Right?)


	16. Chapter 12 CIP: Trial

Disclaimer in previous chapters. Please see Author's Notes at the end.

**NOTE**: This is a **CIP** (Curse is Physical) chapter. **CIP** supposes a curse can accelerate the normal healing capabilities of the human body, but not surpass them. Please note that **CIM** and **CIP** chapters **will share some content****.** They will simply move in different directions.

-x-

"Miss Lotto, right?"

She gave the guard a smile, nodding a few times before it occurred to her she could not reciprocate. "Oh! I'm sorry, I don't . . . I mean . . ."

_It's only an introduction_, she berated herself, and took a deep breath. People asked each other's names all the time. It was not rude or prying or inappropriate in any way. Even if he was obviously from Central and they were seated outside a very serious room full of very important people. "What's your name?" she managed shyly, but without additional stuttering.

The guard that had spoken was the one nearest her, and he was staring straight ahead as if he had never said anything at all. His companion, who was almost exactly his same height, was a brown-haired man that didn't seem interested in small talk. But the blonde man beside her was the same man who had helped her up off the floor yesterday, and he been kind to her besides. His eyes never left some magical point only he could see, but he answered her just the same.

"Lieutenant Showl," he said, with a hint of a smile. "I was instructed to tell you that should a recess not be observed today, you may ask for a lunch to be brought to you. It was not the intention of the panel to put you under duress."

But that didn't make sense. "But what about you, and . . . and your companion?"

The darker-haired man managed to speak without moving anything but his lips, and even those not much. "Lieutenant Kapp."

"We're working, miss. We have no need of a break."

"Oh." Still, it didn't seem fair. "But I'm working too."

The blonde's chin inclined slightly in acknowledgement, and she wondered about their lack of motion until she recalled that the entire area was resembling an abbey that had been entirely abandoned to bats. Golems were everywhere, and perhaps they were not allowed to chitchat while on duty. And with so many people from Central there, people she hadn't seen since the Egg was nearly taken back by the Noah . . .

Miranda subsided, not wanting to get anyone in trouble. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't say things like that. Thank you for your offer." Then another thought struck her. "But if you're both on duty, then who would go?" Then it occurred to her that it was terribly rude to assume one of them would be getting the meal. "I-I mean, how would we tell Jerry?"

"Many apologies, miss Exorcist. I did not mean to insinuate that you were not working or on duty." It even sounded sincere, and she couldn't recall the last time someone apologized to her. "I will go. Kapp is more than capable of ensuring the panel is not interrupted. And, of course, we have a talented Exorcist protecting us."

A braver woman would have made a joke. She could think of nothing to say. Miranda certainly didn't feel like a talented Exorcist at the moment, and she let her eyes fall to Time Record, watching Kanda's time spinning evenly.

Time had a way of weighing down on her. She recalled watching Allen and Lenalee's time actually going into her body when she had first activated her Innocence, in that desperate fight against Rhode, and while now the time went into the Record, she had a feeling that if she peeked under it while taking on someone's time, she'd still see it passing through her skin. It felt like her skin grew too heavy and too tight to bear, to move, to breathe, and this-

This was nothing. Just a tingle. So much pain and so much damage and she could only take on such a little piece of it.

It didn't make sense. Rhode had done something to Lenalee, something both to her nerves and in a dream, that she never spoke of. She had forgotten it while under Time Recovery, had fought and been better because she did not remember what it was that Rhode had done.

So why was it that Kanda still knew everything? Everything that he had endured, why did her Innocence think he was better off when it was clear he was not? Even for him, the best she could do was allow him to keep adding wounds, to his heart and his pride, when the previous had not had a chance to heal.

The brown-haired guard, Kapp, expelled air through his nose sharply, but not loudly enough to be called a snort, and Miranda felt a touch on her shoulder.

"I didn't mean to upset you," Showl said quietly.

"You didn't," she managed, in a fairly level voice. "I just . . . wish that I could do more."

It hung in the air long after it was spoken, so that when Lieutenant Kapp spoke, some ten minutes later, all three of them knew exactly what he meant.

"A miracle is not enough?"

She glanced up at him, staring not at some invisible point like Showl but directly at her. "I had heard that Exorcists pushed themselves hard, but even the grace of God is not enough?"

Showl did not look at his comrade, disapprovingly silent, and Miranda stared at the darker-haired guard until she realized what she was doing. "I-"

"Have there not been millions of people throughout history who would have given all of their money, their properties, their empires for even two more minutes on this earth?" His voice was lightly accented and heavily critical. "What more is it you wish for? To take and give time permanently? Would that not be defying God Himself?"

It was very rarely indeed that Komui ever spoke of the other aspect of the Exorcists, the religious aspect. They were the weapons of the Church against the Noah and the forces of evil, but she had never really thought of what it would mean, from that point of view, if she could . . . take the time permanently. Simply make something so that it had never happened by force of will and Innocence.

If she could make it so that Kanda did not remember what had happened to him, permanently remove the toll it had taken on his body and spirit, would she?

_Yes,_ she thought immediately, and was ashamed. She did not answer the lieutenant, staring at the floor, and with another audible sigh, too close to one of disgust, he let the matter drop.

After that, things settled into the same routine as the day before. There were rises and falls of volume from the room, including a raised voice that was certainly Leverrier. She was just congratulating herself for not flinching when the doors burst open, scaring her half to death, and she let out a little eep as a rather fierce-looking man strode through impatiently.

He analyzed and dismissed her in one glance, dark hair swept back in a short ponytail, and turned back to the door after only a moment, obviously waiting for someone to catch up. Two men who were obviously administration, as indicated by their red uniforms, nodded to him as they passed, and she was just starting to wonder if perhaps he was one of Kanda's guards when the tall, friendly shape of Arystar Krory appeared in the doorway, with the shorter Allen Walker reluctantly under his arm.

The vampiric Exorcist was in midsentence. "-ood to see you again, Allen-kun." He took a deep breath, as if he had just walked out of a stifling greenhouse into fresh spring air. "I see I won't need to worry about you." And before she could make any sense of the comment, he released Walker to give her a polite bow. "Good morning, Miss Lotto. Thank you for your hard work."

Miranda blinked up at his blinding if prohibitively toothy smile, and matched it with as much spirit as she could muster. She hadn't even noticed either of them going in earlier, how could she have missed it? "Good morning, Krory, Allen-kun."

Allen looked a bit peaked but he gave her a smile of his own, the one he used when he was in pain and didn't want to share, and paused in the doorway to turn back, as if distracted by something. At the same time the ponytailed guard moved forward, and she realized with a start that he was not assigned to Kanda.

He was assigned to Allen. Because Allen Walker was still in a great deal of trouble, for making an unauthorized Gate, and Howard Link was not yet well enough to be returned to duty.

Krory continued to walk forward, forcing the ponytailed inspector to stop in his tracks or be run over, and Miranda glanced back at Allen to find he was no longer the only one in the doorway.

Her charge was standing there as well.

"Kanda, I-"

Kanda Yuu looked exactly the same as he had when he'd walked in, blank and quiet. But he seemed to focus on Allen briefly, and more surprisingly, he actually said something.

"It wasn't you." The words were clipped and a little rude, and he glanced past Allen at the inspector that had finally danced around the seemingly oblivious Krory. The samurai's guards took matters into their own hands, tugging Kanda to the left even as the ponytailed inspector took hold of Allen's shoulder, clearly trying to keep them apart.

Why . . .? And why would Kanda speak to Allen, of all people, when he would not speak to his general or anyone else?

Miranda froze, wondering if she should follow Kanda, and though he was guided past Allen, his eyes never left the younger teen's face. "Don't let Rhode capture you alive."

Allen seemed as startled as she was; he was pulled away by the inspector, stumbling gracelessly, and she was reminded of his many wounds, also not healed.

"Kanda-"

She watched them both until they were whisked away, Allen around a corner and Kanda in the opposite direction. Kanda never looked back but Allen stared after him almost desperately, and she found herself watching both hallways between the people wandering in and out of the room. The doors were pulled shut again by guards from the inside before Kanda had returned, and she gave Showl a questioning look.

He gave her a very slight shrug in answer, and without any other orders, or any real idea where they'd taken Kanda, she remained where she was.

Half an hour dragged by before the doors opened again, and this time there was a steady stream of people leaving the room. Clearly it was a recess. She was debating her options when someone else she recognized emerged, giving her the same painful smile Allen had. "Ah, Miranda-chan. Would you join me for lunch?"

It wasn't the first time the supervisor had asked her to eat – he did it less frequently than he asked her to sleep, of course – and she jumped up at once before pausing, then turning back to her companions. It was odd to think of them as companions, since it was clear Kapp didn't care for her very much, but they had shared the last two days together and for some reason she couldn't just leave them behind.

"What can I bring back for you?"

Kapp ignored her. Skowl gave her a shallow nod. "Since there is a recess, we will be relieved. But thank you for your consideration, Miss Lotto."

Komui seemed eager to be away from them, so she followed him in the same direction they had taken Allen Walker. It turned out to be a shortcut back to the main lobby, which she never would have guessed, and from there he could have been taken anywhere.

"You seem quiet," Komui observed, holding open the double doors to the makeshift cafeteria, and she smiled her thanks and stepped quickly inside. It was near noon, so there was a decent crowd, and the atmosphere was quiet and tense.

The Finders had noticed the crowd that was coming in to eat, and those from Central administration were all too easily recognized.

Komui was grinning broadly, cheerful and slightly manic, and she bit her lip before walking beside him down the long aisle. That grin was for the Finders, the staff, those worried about what was going on. Those that knew very little.

That grin was for her.

"I'm worried," she said in a low voice. "About Kanda. And Allen." _And Tiedoll and Noise Marie and you._

"I don't blame you." They got in line, behind someone that was unassociated with the hearing, and she realized any further conversation would have to be very, very careful.

"How is his time?"

A glance at Time Record showed it was spinning as evenly as before. "Light." That was safe, wasn't it? "I don't think . . . anything is getting any worse." Then she mentally slapped herself. Anyone with half a brain could figure out what that meant.

But Komui didn't berate her. "Well then, that's one less thing to be worried about, eh, Miranda-chan?"

She nodded and pretended not to watch him glance around the cafeteria. "Supervisor . . . are you sleeping?" It was hard _not_ to notice the lines, the wrinkles, the ashen quality of his skin. It was out of place on the normally sparkling man, and if he was this concerned about whatever was going on in that room, it couldn't be good. Even when Kanda was missing Komui hadn't been like this. "Lenalee will worry if you don't take care of yourself."

"Isn't that my line?" he asked gently, before gesturing to the window. "You're doing far more work than I am, Miranda. Please, keep up your strength."

Somehow it was starting to ring hollow. Krory, Central's guards, now Komui . . . She finished giving her order to the man in the window, who was conspicuously not Jerry, and then hesitated. "Is there something I should be . . . practicing for?" she finished vaguely. How could she ask if they were about to come under attack without frightening the entire cafeteria?

He shook his head, placing his order as well and coming to lean with her against the wall, hands in his pockets and the picture of relaxation and contentment. "Things aren't deteriorating, which is a very positive sign, but there's still time on your Record, isn't there?" Somehow their ideas of what could constitute a subtle conversation were quite different.

Then she realized that they didn't have to be careful. Everyone could see Time Record on her wrist. There was no hiding the fact that she was holding something in an improved condition, nor that something terrible had happened to Kanda. It was also common knowledge that Central was here, cloistered and in deep discussion regarding something.

Come to think of it, if the rest of those in the Order HQ thought she was holding Kanda in Recovery, that was certainly better than their imaging worse.

"It will take years for everything to be right again." Finally he seemed to be choosing his words carefully. "I doubt that circumstances will wait that long."

Because his previous comments had been so frank she figured this one was too, but she turned it over and over in her head without finding any real meaning. The man-that-was-not-Jerry was able to produce both their meals – glazed chicken and fried rice, respectively – and Komui had already chosen a table before she drummed up the nerve to ask.

"The panel-"

He waved chopsticks at her. Komui had chosen a relatively isolated spot, though they were getting a lot of curious looks from Finders and she doubted it would last long. Komui simply had too many other responsibilities to just disappear for days on end. "The panel will be finished soon. There are just a few details to cover." He sounded unconcerned. "Long term, he'll need room to learn again."

She frowned to herself, cutting her chicken. "I guess I don't understand how that involves me," she finally murmured, and took a bite so she had an excuse not to talk anymore.

Komui gave her a small smile. "I know he won't make any progress under Time Recovery. He needs to adjust to how he is now. But I don't think the Earl will put off his plans on account of one Exorcist." Sunlight glinted on his glasses. "He'll choose to fight now and recover later. You're the only one that can help him do that."

The chicken turned to ash in her mouth, and a sip of water didn't help. Once again she was being asked to use her Innocence to let Kanda accrue injuries before previous ones healed. And if she was holding one Exorcist in Time Recovery, then Time Recovery would be the only talent of her Innocence that she could utilize. There was nothing stopping her, at that point, from placing all nearby Exorcists in Time Recovery, letting them keep on fighting long after they couldn't.

The one aspect of her Innocence that she regretted the most. And Komui was right, Kanda would prefer to fight than sit around learning to speak again.

And if Kanda asked her to do that, would she?

She couldn't immediately answer herself, so she withdrew and ate her meal quietly. Komui seemed to understand, not attempting to make further conversation, and all too soon they were approached. Unfortunately not by Reever, of whom she was immensely fond, to yell at Komui for slacking off, but a curt red uniform, who asked rather ungraciously if the supervisor would follow him immediately. He gave her a friendly squeeze on the shoulder as he passed her, and she managed something close to a smile before turning back to the table and her lunch.

His had been left almost untouched.

-x-

No one _reacted._ Like it hadn't been said, hadn't been heard if they just pretended that everything was fine. Lavi, always lighthearted, had taken up a flanking position with his arms behind his head, complaining about the chairs. Kanda's guards looked neither right nor left, and the general –

General Tiedoll. Her favorite general. The only one that still seemed so friendly, so hopeful, so _human._ The only one that seemed to cry as easily as Komui. He walked beside Kanda as he had in the morning. No tears. No clinging. But no coldness either, his pupil's companion rather than master.

Miranda averted her eyes when Lavi cocked a knowing eye in her direction suddenly, and stepped quickly off the elevator. It was good, she reminded herself, that he was able to spend the nights in his own quarters. His own things would put him more at ease than the infirmary.

If he remembered any of them.

And there would be fewer interruptions, no one dropping his chart into the foot of his bed.

Not that he'd know through the drugs.

"You're sweating, Miranda dear." Matron had a way of saying something that embarrassing very innocently, as if she had no idea that the constant cold sweat on her upper lip was mortifying. "Have you been sleeping yourself?"

"Oh, yes." Not that she would be tonight, and perhaps not the next without some of whatever it was the healer and her nurse were carrying in their small black bags. Leaving Kanda . . . as he was, in his own quarters, no one was sure what would happen. He might react well, as he had to Marie and his general sitting beside him in the infirmary, or he might react as he had when he'd first woken there.

"I was just thinking-" But then she bit her lip. It was no trouble to hold him in Recovery, at least until Central left, until it was only his family that saw him fumble and fall. But she was doing him no favors by shielding him from what he was now. Maybe he would get better more quickly than they thought. Maybe he would exceed their expectations like he always did.

That was Kanda's way, wasn't it?

"_-happened until the day of your escape?"_

"_No."_

_Miranda kept one ear to the doors – still slightly ajar, and neither Kapp nor Showl were moving to close them – and the other on the young man who had burst through them so unexpectedly. The retching noises were still echoing down the hall; he had not made it to the washrooms in time._

_Maybe it was good that Komui hadn't finished his lunch. Maybe he knew who Jerry's fillin was today and had been afraid of the same fate._

"_You previously testified that you were tortured by the Akuma 'Theodore' every night. Is this untrue?"_

_Miranda felt her eyes widen, the sick man now forgotten as her eyes shot to the slightly open doors. Showl shifted his weight back, but still didn't reach out to close them._

"_. . . it was punishment for refusing to entertain the Noah after dinner." Kanda's voice was eerily calm, and Miranda froze, hardly daring to breathe._

"_What do you mean by 'entertain'?" The way Leverrier said it, the tone and the inflection he used, chilled Miranda to the bone._

_It was an eternity before Kanda replied, and she didn't realize she'd raised a hand until she felt her fingers fluttering by her lips. "Conversation or demonstration."_

_Oh, gods, what was he saying . . .?_

"_What kind of conversation did you have with this Noah?" It wasn't Leverrier, it was heavy and judgmental and a woman's voice she had never heard._

"_He would ask me questions and I would answer them."_

"_Did he ask you about the Order?"_

"_Yes."_

"_What did he ask you?"_

"_Operational details and habits of the staff I was familiar with."_

"_And you answered them to avoid torture?"_

_Miranda flinched hard as a door slammed somewhere down the hall – the man that had been sick would be coming back soon._

"_Yes."_

"_Did he ask you about other Exorcists?" This was a new voice, male, but she hardly noticed. Kanda had given information to the Noah?_

"_Yes."_

"_Which ones?" This was Leverrier, and sharply._

"_. . . Lavi, mostly." Kanda's voice finally sounded some inflection._

"_Why was he so concerned with the Bookman's apprentice?" General Kloud's voice was silky in comparison with the others, and the footsteps approaching from down the hall faltered with a cough._

"_Jasdero and Debitto had told him that Lavi saw through one of their blinding techniques. He was concerned that Lavi would accompany General Tiedoll and possibly see him."_

"_And did you give him the information he sought?" The Bookman's words were gravel, grating through the seam in the doors._

"_Yes."_

"_Treason," a woman snapped. "Selling another Exorcist for a night's favors? You should have died before you betrayed him!"_

"_I think it's been made quite clear by earlier testimony that he was not able." She almost didn't recognize the cold voice as Komui's. "When did you start revealing classified information to the Noah, Kanda?"_

"_I don't know."_

_Leverrier didn't seem surprised by the answer. "You testified that you began eating on the sixteenth day of your capture. If we assume the Noah told you the true number of days, roughly how long after that did you begin complying with the questioning?"_

_Miranda didn't realize she wasn't breathing at all until the door was ever so slowly closing, and Showl was looking at her directly, his eyes compassionate. It was obvious that the man who had left would not be returning soon, and the last thing she heard before the edges of the doors became even once more was a number._

"_. . . three d-"_

"Yes dear?"

Miranda shook her head, walking shoulder to shoulder with Matron and her nurse Lydia. The hall – and the room – were long behind her, on the other side of their new home and many floors below. And unlike Kanda's entourage, Matron had not heard what she had heard. She had no idea the things he'd said.

And now that she did . . . did it change anything?

"Nevermind," she said softly, and kept her eyes firmly on the floor as they proceeded to Kanda's quarters.

Matron had apparently been giving this a lot of thought, and was no more impressed with Central's guards than she was with someone's embarrassment. She marched right into Kanda's room with the guards and general as if she was invited, though both Lydia and Lavi remained in the hall.

Miranda hesitated with them by the door, trying not to listen to their low questions and Kanda's lifeless replies.

"Ahh, I'll be much happier when Jerry gets back," Lavi murmured conversationally, arching into another stretch like a kitten in a patch of sunlight. "Guess Hayes' lunch didn't sit with him too well."

Miranda just nodded, not quite sure whether to look into the room for the signal or not. What on Earth could she say to Lavi?

"Some terrible timing, too," Lavi observed carelessly. "Wish he'd come back sooner, y'know? Don't think he got the whole story."

Somehow it wasn't like her conversation with Komui. Somehow she knew exactly what he was saying and she knew without a doubt that Lydia had no idea. "I'm not . . . sure he was really feeling up to it."

Lavi made a dismissive noise. "I always hate only reading part of a story. I used to go through small town libraries when I was traveling with Gigi, looking through old journals and local books and stuff. For training, to teach me to read faster, so when Gigi thought he'd given me enough time he'd yank me back out again, even if I was in the middle of one." Lavi slouched with his back to Kanda's doorjamb, and Miranda saw that the short-haired samurai was tolerating a shot. It wouldn't be long now.

"I'll never know how any of 'em ended unless I go back to the libraries, and hope they're still there." He shrugged. "Just don't like having only a piece of the picture."

"I was never any good at puzzles," she said, before she could stop herself or even think about what he might interpret the comment as. It was just innocent, he'd said piece of the picture and she'd hated jigsaw puzzles-

But Lavi gave her a rakish grin. "I dunno, isn't Time Record a buncha gears?"

She glanced down at it, watching Kanda's time moving and simply understanding it. This wasn't a puzzle, it was . . . more like plain words spelled out in a language only she knew.

"Miranda, dear, if you would be so kind," came General Tiedoll's voice, and she looked up with a start to see Kanda sitting woodenly on his bed, staring at his knees. One of his guards was approaching them, but the other was staying beside Matron and Tiedoll, and she gave a hesitant nod.

Kanda had confirmed only reluctantly the last time, and would not want a fuss. Time Recovery picked up the drugs, holding off the sleepy feelings, and she regretfully let them slip away from her. The time floated very peacefully into the door, past the startled inspector, and smoothed back into Kanda without haste. It took more concentration, but she didn't want to hit him with a sudden drowsiness.

Her care didn't matter. The moment his time returned to him he splayed his hands on the bed, as if trying to keep his balance, and then he uncoordinatedly scrabbled away from both his general and Matron, unless his back hit the wall his bed was against. He drew his knees up to his chest when his general approached, though Tiedoll did nothing more frightening than take a seat on the edge of the bed, and then she heard a sound.

A series of sounds. Kanda was speaking. And it was in a language only he knew.

The door was pulled shut in her face by the inspector who had come outside, and he gave them all a measuring look. None of them complained. Lydia toyed with her black bag, apparently ill at ease with two Exorcists and an inspector.

"We don't think he likes me very much, but we weren't sure on the dosages, so I'll just stay here-"

"We're not sure he likes anyone very much," Lavi reassured her. "He had a hard day. Give him a few minutes to unwind."

Miranda wasn't sure if Lavi's comments were for the nurse or her.

-x-

**Author's Notes**: Gosh, guys, I'm so sorry about the delay on this one. Since there was practically no shared content they're pretty much standalone chapters, and will diverge more and more. Next chappie should be out before Easter (assuming I really do get Good Friday off.) It seems pretty unanimous that you want them as I write them, so I'll start posting them that way, but if anyone gets more lost than they already are I'll put them together again, okay?

Edit: Sorry about the chapter notes heading the chapter itself - whoops. ; ) I've just removed them.


	17. Chapter 13 CIM: Error

Disclaimer in previous chapters. Please see Author's Notes at the end.

**NOTE**: This is a **CIM** (Curse is Magical) chapter. **CIM** supposes a curse can restore beyond what is capable by the human body. Please note that **CIM** and **CIP** chapters **will share some content****.** They will simply move in different directions.

-x-

It would have left a beautiful scar. Perfect and symmetrical, like the lacing on a leather gauntlet, all the way up his forearms. It had been loosened, so the filaments were no longer fully buried in his sluggishly regenerating flesh, and when his eyes opened, he could stare at the contrast as it ran so swiftly along the hair-thin wires.

_No more._

The thought was all-consuming, an echo his ears had caught so many times and released unheard.

_No more._

It was hard to focus on the real sounds, the ones outside of his whirling mind. The regular ones like pulse and footsteps, the irregular gurgles and cracks. Hard to focus on the blood and wires and limbs in front of him, curled on the floor. Hard to pay attention to anything but the desperate voice someone had put inside his skull. And the pain.

It was almost time for another one.

_No more._

Theodore was talking, but there was nothing the Akuma had to say that was of any interest to him. All that concerned him was breathing, he wanted to keep breathing. Had to keep breathing, he could breathe through the pain, like all the rest-

The kick came at the expected interval, not hard enough to kill him. The latticework of filaments pulled but held his arms and upper torso more or less in the same place, and Kanda closed his eyes and opened his mouth. A thin stream of burning liquid spurted from his penis with every blow, whether blood or urine or both made no difference. The stubby spikes the Akuma had formed on the toes of its boots were shredding his soft tissues with the same efficiency as a meat tenderizer.

It had to stop soon. Too much damage meant not enough recovery by morning. He had to be able to walk by morning.

_Stop._

Pressure on his hip, weight, pain. Words. He fought for breath, shallow, wrong, but he would not dare let his lungs pull at the damage. It already felt as if his belly had been emptied, stuffed with shards of glass and sewn closed. The feeling intensified as his hip was pushed over, and he followed it onto his back, curling up his knees as best he was able without using any of the muscles of his abdomen to do it.

_No. No more._

More words, more waiting. The Akuma was taking stock, then. It was looking, it would see. See that it needed to leave him be to heal. See that anything more would be in violation of the Noah's instructions.

The weight moved from his hip, and the Akuma rested its heel in his navel.

Now that he was on his back, the weight fell exactly into that tender place repeated strikes had pulverized, and he screamed so hard he choked, so loud that it made his own ears ring. So hard that the force of it made the weight go away, and he was left gasping for breath, not too deeply.

And there was his pulse. And nothing more.

It wouldn't let him pass out, anymore. It had learned how much pain to give him, more than his threshold but less than the needed surge to overwhelm his frantic mind. It had learned how much damage it could inflict, how much blood and how much flesh it could take and leave him there, on the cold floor, until morning. Not alone, never alone, and always with a reminder to prevent him from succumbing to exhaustion.

Once he caught his breath, the reminder would come. Pain without damage. Worse to frayed nerves and half-healed flesh, it was the part of the night that was the worst.

He counted the time by his pulse and waited for the heel to return.

But it didn't. Instead, his arms drew upwards, unhurriedly, curling past his chest.

_No._

Inexorably slowly, enough that he could try to tighten shredded abdominal muscles to prevent it. By the time his wrists had been drawn over his head it was already unbearable, but they were dragged higher still, weight was added. The Akuma was using them to drag him across the room, stretching his ruined stomach taut and slicing his arms open once more.

And his eyes closed, and his mouth opened.

_No more._

The Akuma didn't pull him far, the weight of his lower body would tear apart his insides, all Theodore wanted was the pressure. The pressure did not remain constant, eventually relaxing, but straightening his body had added a new list of discomforts, and Kanda turned his face into his arm so the moisture of his breath might collect on his skin and be returned to his tongue.

And waited.

But the interval didn't repeat.

He thought perhaps he had briefly, mercifully passed out, but when he was able to count the specific number of heartbeats fully twice he realized that he had not missed it, and he was in far too much pain to be unconscious. He was flirting with it but the fucking curse wouldn't let him go, and when the Akuma spoke, this time, he listened.

"Well? Are you ready?"

And his eyes opened, just a little, watching ink coursing down his upper arm. The hanging torch was behind him, casting little light and less warmth, and he let it illuminate the blood and tell the Akuma that he was listening.

And the Akuma responded. Theodore crouched there, in front of his face, so that all Kanda could really see was where a loincloth might have been if not for the colored armor. It was getting better at reading his non-verbal communication.

"If I wake Master for nothing, he will be very displeased with you." The Akuma sounded unusually serious.

Wake the Noah . . .? His eye blinked with the effort of trying to moisten his mouth, but it was open, making the faint noise much easier to generate.

The Akuma gave a metallic chuckle. "You have been begging me to stop for many minutes now, Exorcist. Did you not hear your own throat betray you?"

The voice inside his skull.

Kanda closed his eyes, to signal that he was no longer listening, and the slightest tug on his arms made them open wide once more.

"No more, you said. But you know what that will require, do you not, Exorcist?"

For the torture to stop. Yes. He knew.

"If I bring Master here, the words must be sincere. He will know if you lie."

Kanda accepted those words for what they were.

"Will you swear allegiance to him?" One of the wires tightened on his right arm until he whimpered. "If you do, I will stop."

_No more._

But he would not mean the words. He could not mean the words.

"Do not ignore me, Exorcist." The voice had a dangerous lilt, a thin blade cutting air.

Kanda ducked his face further into his arm in silent answer, and the Akuma hissed happily. With a gesture that would have been the envy of any angler it drew back one of its arms, yanking him across the floor.

And then the side of his mattress sank with added weight.

_Mattress._

He could not draw breath. His stomach ached, but the pain was deep and diffuse, clinging to the inside of his spine. The rest of his body was tingling and numb, and there was absolutely no sound in the room. No breathing. No crackling of fire. Just the surety that someone was sitting on the mattress he was lying on.

And then an inhale, not his, and the withdrawal of a hand he hadn't known was on his shoulder. He was curled on his side, then- "Kanda Yuu."

His chest seized and managed to suck in a short breath.

"If you wish to bathe, you must do so now."

It wasn't Sheryl. It wasn't Theodore.

His eyes flew open before he was ready, when the mattress shifted again, and the speaker leaned away. He was standing, he'd only leaned against it to touch him. Kanda was cold – frigidly cold – and when he dared to take a second breath his back pushed against something hard.

The stone wall behind him.

The inspector moved off, towards the middle of the room, and the lightest shade of rose met his gaze, the lotus in its glass. It was pre-dawn; there was just enough ambient light to let him discern color.

Kanda gave the inspector a jerk of his chin, the only signal he could manage, and the man stepped away, pulling the door closed gently behind him.

His stomach still hurt.

It took Kanda several moments of deep breathing to unlock his joints, and longer to untangle himself from the blankets. He had put his back to the wall in his sleep, and his neck was stiff with cold. The room was sparse but clean, and his bathing things were where he'd left them, accented with a freshly laundered towel. His unsteady legs carried him to his door almost automatically, and the samurai watched his unencumbered hand shaking as it reached out and took the door handle, watched the door open. The two inspectors acknowledged him in the way that someone acknowledges a fellow soldier, simply expecting him to comply as one led the way to the bathing room on the floor.

And he did.

The lavatory was split into two separate rooms, one containing the toilets and mirrors and the other the showers. They were separated by a wall, and one inspector watched the main entrance while the second took up his station in the doorway between. Neither hovered, allowing him the freedom of the entire facility; there was no one else up at this hour, likely why they had selected it for his use, and the emptiness made him deeply uneasy. He managed to deny the pain in his stomach until the first drops of water hit his scalp.

The unease welled out of him in the form of a burning, stinging dark sludge, and he recognized the ache for what it was – his liver. The bile ate at his dry throat, causing more retching, and soon he was on his hands and knees, coughing and gagging into the trough that carried the water and dark green bile towards the main drain.

It was the same.

He could not sleep, suffering through the night. He was taken to be bathed. When he was done, he would be expected to stand until a man who hated every fiber of his being would enter the room, and ask him questions he did not want to answer. When he refused, he would be punished.

Leverrier had no intention of giving Mugen back to him.

His eyes stung and watered from the force of his expulsions, and while he heard the guard at the door muttering – probably to his double – neither of them entered the showers. Not that it mattered; the streaming water hid everything, both the water in his eyes and the fine tremors that shook him from head to toe.

It was the same.

If he did not cooperate, he would be locked away as a traitor. If he complied fully, Sheryl would know, and would carry out his threat. His best chance was as much compliance as he could risk.

But it wasn't enough. It wasn't enough for Sheryl. For Leverrier.

It was all he could do, and it wasn't enough.

It wouldn't get him Mugen.

He didn't know he'd fully collapsed against his arms until he felt his teeth hit the edge of the trough, tile and grout grating against his enamel. With that contact came an overwhelming wave of calm, so sudden and powerful that he physically flinched, then remained unmoving where his head had sunk, feeling nothing more than every drop of water that struck his skin.

Kanda took a deep, slow breath.

And the voice, that voice the Noah had given him, was silent.

The second one came easier, as did the one after. As if he had not breathed in months. He felt each curl of steam moving in and out of the pores in his lungs, rolling in, rolling out. Soon he realized his position was inhibiting more, and memories much deeper than anything the Noah had given him picked him up, straightening his spine and lungs and diaphragm.

And he was centered. All the hours he had spent on stone and tile searching for peace and clarity, and he had fallen into it between moments.

The voice the Noah had given him had no power over him here.

He breathed, and felt the water running over and through him, cleansing him. He welcomed it into his mouth, rinsing the poison and the words and digestive juices from his tongue and teeth.

So it wasn't enough. Defiance would not get him Mugen. Compliance would not get him Mugen.

There was another way. There was always another way.

Nothing came immediately to mind, though that was not unusual. If it was easy, after all, he would have already thought of it. His eyes opened themselves after some expanse of time, taking in the tile, the texture, noting and appreciating the natural patterns of the ceramics and the way the water chose its path across the smooth surfaces.

There was always another way.

He felt himself stand, changing his perspective, and when his eyes naturally fell upon his bathing utensils he picked up the bar of soap, handling it reverently and drawing the feeling of it in his hands against his memory.

It had been an eternity since he had been allowed to bathe properly, and he was squandering a perfectly good opportunity.

Kanda had chosen a shower head near one of the tiled stone benches that bisected the showers, and he moved out of the spray of the shower and calmly began a ritual he had not experienced in almost two months. The scent of the soap deepened his sense of peace, as if reminding his body of the state it was normally in when he was bathing, so much so that he nearly forgot about the inspector at the door, or the time limit he surely had.

The first ripple occurred when he dragged the soap through his hair. It always felt shorter in the bath, there were no long lengths for him to painstakingly untangle and clean. Towards the end of his time with Sheryl he had been allowed to bathe himself but never permitted to use soap in his hair, it had always been shampoo, and somehow now, with the bar soap in his palm smoothing over short, orderly hairs, he experienced the loss of it more completely.

And he accepted it. Hair would grow back. It was a familiar mantra to him, he'd thought it since he'd regained consciousness after its removal, but now, in this time of tranquility, he allowed himself to mourn and move on.

He reached into the basket as if in a dream, withdrawing and opening his razor. It had dulled slightly in their time apart but was sufficient, and he put it to his throat before drawing it upwards. This was not new; Sheryl had preferred him clean-shaven and a razor was a threat to none of them. But his own razor, though now duller than he would like, still refreshed his skin in a way the Italian one he had been given could not.

Once he was wholly clean, rather than using his cedar bucket he stepped back into the spray, letting it rinse the soap and pain and nightmare away. The last time he would have to wash that Akuma away. No more dreams. Mind over matter.

The present was here. The past was the gift of a lesson.

The water found a new path down his skin, the nape of his neck, behind his ears. The long strands it used to use were gone, but that did not stop the droplets from their journey to the drain. There was another way.

Compliance with Sheryl had given him some influence on Sheryl's plans for Tiedoll, but not enough. It was as flawed as a stroke of the sword that achieved the same. Strengthening that stroke would never make it sufficient.

As for defiance, actively fighting would lead to failure. Though his two guards were not in line of sight of one another, thus vulnerable, and the early morning granted him a chance of getting through the complex undetected, he had no hope of wresting Mugen from Hevlaska. She would be under guard and though she would know why he was there, and perhaps even agree with him, she would not cooperate with him. Her fear of Leverrier was too great.

The results of refusal to cooperate were readily obvious; he was living them now, even as his hands reached out and turned the facets, stopping the flow of water. The towel was pleasantly soft against his skin and scalp, and his bathing tools were placed back in his bucket with hands that were absolutely steady. The inspector did not even look at him, let alone comment on his behavior, simply led the way back through the two rooms and into the hall. Lavi was leaning there with his own basket and towel, apparently prohibited from entering during Kanda's bath, and gave him a greeting that trailed off into an expression of surprise.

It was very rare that Lavi chose to be up at this hour. But he had panel to prepare for.

The reminder should have frightened him, and though he knew fear would ruin the calm he had found, he discovered that he was not afraid to lose it. The thought was simply accepted as the next logical progression of his day, unpleasant but inevitable.

But Lavi's surprise stayed with him, stung into the tranquility. Why was it inevitable? Why did he have to stand in that room for another day? Hadn't he determined compliance was not the path to Mugen?

What _was_ the new path?

There was another surprise at his door, both to him and his inspectors. Jerry was there, standing behind a low table bearing a large silver platter with a rectangular lid. He beamed at them, almost seeming to glow, so that only the order window was missing.

"Good morning, inspectors, Kanda-kun!" With a flourish – and though he knew, he _knew_ Jerry was aware of the danger he had put himself in, he ignored the inspectors' tensing completely and utterly – he exposed the contents.

One large Japanese breakfast box, and one large rectangular plate of donuts.

The inspectors hesitated, though Jerry continued beaming brightly enough to take a bite out of one of them. "I'm sorry I was so late, Kanda-kun, but I didn't know when you would return so the best I could do was line up suppliers. I wanted the ingredients to be the freshest, and they are! Taste taste taste!"

"So that's where you were," came Marie's deep rumbling voice, and then his bulk from around the corner. Behind him, somehow not being dwarfed, was the general, and Kanda looked at all of them, taking them in, before his feet carried him into his room without a word. His free hand closed the door behind him.

But it was not to exclude them. His clothes were washed and ready for him so he hung the towel to dry and put them on. His boots he put to the side of the door, and then Lavi's words managed to filter into his silent brain, and his eyes found the mat he had promised to use. When he opened the door again everyone was still there, still smiling, and he laid out the mat properly and knelt.

Though it was obvious they didn't like it, the inspectors permitted Jerry to place the low table before him with a flourish, and he was not content to stop there. Though they could have stopped him, he pushed a donut into each of their chests, forcing them to catch it or let it drop, and then offered the plate to Marie and General Tiedoll.

"Welcome home, Kanda!"

The breakfast was richer than anything he normally had; someone had told Jerry what a holiday breakfast in Japan was, and while the Indian man hadn't gotten it quite right, it was astonishingly close. The plates and bowls were all very small, containing simmered vegetables, freshly boiled rice, a filet of fish with fresh pickled ginger, traditional vegetable stew, and Jerry's best attempt at an omelet roll.

Somewhere, he'd even found nori and toasted it, and from the scent, in sesame oil that he'd probably had to make himself.

Kanda removed the chopsticks from their rice paper sleeve and found that he was hungry.

"These are very good," Marie commented. "But won't you be missed down in the kitchens?"

Jerry was looking very pleased with himself. "They can live without me one more meal. I must use all of my culinary skill to put meat back on those bones of his! It is a mission only I can complete!"

"And is it a part of your mission to add fat to mine?" Tiedoll murmured, accepting a second donut, and the small talk continued. Somehow it didn't bother him, his mind staying peacefully quiet and allowing him to enjoy the taste of his food.

It wasn't the same.

At breakfast it would be Sheryl prattling, but not with the same intent. This was true conversation, it did not ask him to join. Like birds outside the window, they were content among themselves simply to watch and not require or expect. It seemed now that he had emptied his stomach of the bile it had been holding for so long, there was more room for food, and it was not long before all the bowls and plates stood empty, and he placed his chopsticks upon the tallest one, releasing them for the first time since the meal began.

It wasn't the same.

He didn't need to apply the same rules. This was not Leverrier's home.

It was another ripple against the calm, more powerful, and he felt a sharp gaze pass over him like a fine mist. It wasn't enough to shatter the peace he felt, he refused to let it. He was too close to another answer.

Too close to another way.

"You have made me so happy!" Tears splashed onto the table as Jerry bent and hefted it away, and Kanda inclined his head in thanks, standing and returning the mat to its place in front of the lower of his two windows. The sun was higher in the sky now.

It was time.

"Matron will be happy that you ate so well," Marie commented, as he stepped out of the room, and the inspectors took up their positions once more. Their donuts were gone, though Kanda could not be sure where they had gone. It was a twinge that stayed with him, more so than the others – normally he was able to observe such things without paying specific attention.

Something was missing.

They took the elevator – if he thought about it, Kanda might come to the conclusion they did that to save his strength for standing before the panel – and when the doors closed he felt it again, eyes openly examining him. He cared enough this time to find them, less he miss the detail, and found that it was Tiedoll, looking at him closely.

"I am glad you are well this morning," the general said, and beneath it lay a question.

_Why._

Something was missing. He was missing something.

The nagging feeling grew, threatening his peace and chipping away like the golems sometimes did when he was nearly too irritated to meditate. The doors to the elevator opened, as far as Marie was allowed to go with him, and it was only the inspectors and the general that followed him down the hall.

In front of him, perhaps twenty yards, Leverrier was talking with Epsteine. The sight of the man was another reminder of the unpleasantness ahead, but this time it was tinged with something else.

Because this was not Leverrier's home. He was not Sheryl. He did not control this place in the same manner. He was like Sheryl Camelot, more than he would ever know, but they were not the same.

Sheryl was better at what he did than Leverrier was. He had fewer weaknesses, and Howard Link was in no way Rhode Camelot.

That tinge he felt was annoyance. The sight of that man _irritated_ Kanda.

His calm popped like a bubble at the thought. Irritated _Kanda_. He was not _Exorcist_. He was Kanda. Kanda Yuu. And Kanda knew exactly how to deal with people like Leverrier.

And Kanda also knew that what he had just experienced, could still feel on the edges of his mind, was _not_ the meditation it had seemed.

He had given a little gasp when emotion and true awareness had flooded back, enough to give it away, and the inspector in front of him twitched the fingers of his right hand, which had been swinging gently at his side. The gesture was small but overly complicated for a simple muscle spasm, and the last of the tendrils withdrew from his mind.

His eyes widened slightly as he recognized it for what it was, and the inspector's head turned, just enough to show him the corner of an eye.

"My apologies. I will not wake you in that fashion again."

A rush of shame, then anger, then fear. All readily identifiable despite the lack of influence from another source. The inspectors were Crow, which he had known, but he had never considered that there was something, other than torture, that Leverrier could use to wrestle Sheryl's name from him. It was the same technique the Earl's Skulls could have used, if Sheryl had wanted, to make him a slave. To carve an invisible pentacle on his forehead and force him to willingly and politely give Sheryl everything he had wanted.

Sheryl had never considered it. And thus he had never thought that Leverrier might.

But they were not the same.

Leverrier and Epsteine had already gone inside, and his inspectors led him past the guards at the front door to his place in the center of the room. He said nothing to either of them when they withdrew, but he felt Tiedoll's eyes on him while the general circled and took his seat. He had seen it, then, and probably the idiot rabbit, too. His eyes had probably been as vacant as his head.

Dammit.

Now that he was not being artificially calmed the shaking had returned, just a little, and he balled his hands into fists to hide it. He wasn't really sure which was worse; that he had been so obviously frightened that the Crow had felt guilty enough to pacify him, or that Tiedoll knew.

_Dammit!_

The rest of the panel filed in, seemingly unaware of his mounting resentment, and by the time the gavel was struck Kanda was able to control his body again. It wasn't the same calm as before, and it wasn't due to his removing himself from the proceedings, as he had done the past several days. In fact he was nervous, just a little; adrenaline had made his fingertips cold but he didn't need warm hands.

Not yet. Shortly, but not yet.

"This panel is now in session. We have reviewed previous testimony and will begin with the battle between the unnamed Noah and the party that fought him for Kanda's release. It was the testimony of Noise Marie that a second human, possibly a Noah, was present in the vicinity of the battle but did not contribute. It was also the previous testimony of Kanda Yuu that the Noah Tyki Mikk was supposed to be present at that battle, to prevent Allen Walker from escaping should he have accompanied Tiedoll." Leverrier looked up from his paper, then almost did a double-take, and Kanda nearly smirked.

He hadn't realized it, but he hadn't spent much of the previous days actually looking at Leverrier.

"Why do you think Tyki Mikk failed to attack that night?"

Kanda didn't look away, and he tried to ignore the sweat on his palms. As much as it made sense, it was hard to break the routine that had been his world for six weeks. "How should I know."

He knew full well, of course, but once he revealed that Tyki was probably too disgusted with Sheryl to help him when his plan went awry, he'd be asked to reveal _why._ And while it was his one and only victory over the Noah, pitting Tyki against Sheryl, the circumstances under which he'd managed it were unacceptable.

Leverrier's eyes narrowed at his tone. "Had there been conflict between the two Noah prior to that night?"

"It doesn't matter." Tyki would get over it soon enough. The discord he had managed to sow would soon be forgotten, if it wasn't already.

The inspector leaned back in his chair. "Kanda Yuu, it is the opinion of this panel-"

Doesn't matter, he thought, and squeezed his hands into fists when they started to shake. Then he turned on his heels and started to walk away.

"_You will stop right there!_" Leverrier snarled, and the interior guards started forward immediately. He managed to hide his flinch at the shout and continued walking until the guards stopped and raised their staffs to block his way.

He just stared at them. "Move."

"You have not been dismissed." The anger was oiled over, above the muttering of Central administration. "Where do you think you're going?"

A question he was only too happy to answer. "To train," he said simply. And then, to the guards, he repeated himself. "Move."

"The panel-"

"Doesn't matter." This time he could not keep the thought in his head. "It never did." And as he said it he knew it was true. "I have given you all the pertinent information on the Noah. There is an Akuma army large enough to wipe out the entire Order somewhere on this continent. This is a waste of time."

"He's right." General Klaud Nyne, his unlikely ally, sounded almost bored. "We already know Noah family politics are far more complex than he could have possibly observed in the short time he was a cooperative captive. I would prefer to be searching for new Exorcists."

"I agree." Komui's tone was frighteningly similar to hers. "The rest of the details can be gathered by assigning an inspector to him, as has been done with Allen Walker. We're wasting the panels' time."

"Then have we made a decision on whether to reinstate him?"

The voice that Sheryl had given him whispered that this was why Tiedoll had allowed the trial to go on. That this vote would have been against him at the start, unless he had won their hearts through his courage or their guilt. He hated that voice; he didn't want to think or care about such things. To care about the tiny motivations of people was to give them power.

But the past was a gift, a lesson. Sheryl would not have hesitated to use it.

"I don't care," he said simply, and took another step forward. The guards did not give ground; their staffs were now pressed to his chest. "Move."

"Before we take a vote," a calm voice rang into the sudden silence, for only the second time over the course of the entire trial, "may I ask something of the panel?"

"General Tiedoll." Somehow Leverrier made it sound as though he had already won, and was graciously letting an enemy have his last words.

"The only reason to prevent his reinstatement is belief that he is loyal to the Noah, and the Earl. His Innocence has not rejected him, a strong reason to doubt that he has changed sides."

"His synchronization rate has dropped by half," retorted the fat woman Kanda had come to loathe. "Clearly the Innocence does not trust him as it once did. He has admitted many indiscretions, despite his excuses, and his refusal to give us the Noah that tortured him –"

"But if we should continue to hear the details of his captivity," Tiedoll interrupted gently, "is there actually a level of pain that he could have suffered that would prompt you to forgive those transgressions?" He let it hang in the air a moment. "You know that his curse kept him alive through tortures that no one else in this room could have survived. He effectively died, perhaps more than once, and you have seen the proof of this yourselves even if he has exaggerated that torture. Is there some agony that would excuse his few weaknesses in your eyes?"

The room was silent, and his general sighed. "Then let us have the vote now."

"All in favor of reinstatement," Komui's voice came before Leverrier's, and there was the sound of cloth and motion. Kanda did not turn, did not look. And did not care.

The lesson that he had learned was that responding to Sheryl did not get him what he wanted.

"All those opposed."

More fabric, more motion. The guards stared him down, and he stared back.

"Central administration will consult the documentation and make recommendations on the further monitoring of Kanda Yuu. He is returned to active status reporting to acting Supervisor Komui." Leverrier didn't sound too happy, but not particularly defeated, either. "This panel is adjourned."

The staffs slowly withdrew from his chest, and when they finally stepped aside, Kanda pushed open the doors and headed unerringly for the elevator.

And his two inspectors followed him.

-x-

**Author's Notes**: A little grim there at the beginning, I know, but hopefully redeeming in the end? Kanda's still in there! The story is not over for him here, though, as you might imagine: once a fully fledged Exorcist again, his first job is going to be winning Mugen's trust back, and he's also physically not at one hundred percent. We also have the problem of Komui and Tiedoll, and now that he's reinstated, how will everyone else treat him? There's one little twist left, but I would think we'd have it covered in two chapters.

Start counting, guys, I'm usually quite bad at correctly guessing these things.


	18. Chapter 13 CIP: Error

Disclaimer in previous chapters. Please see Author's Notes at the end.

**NOTE**: This is a **CIP** (Curse is Physical) chapter. **CIP** supposes a curse can accelerate the normal healing capabilities of the human body, but not surpass them. Please note that **CIM** and **CIP** chapters **will share some content****.** They will simply move in different directions.

-x-

On the third morning Miranda came for him, Kanda had had enough.

He refused.

And despite his departure from English or any other type of formal communication, his refusal could not have been more clear. Tears were quivering on his painfully pronounced jaw, and he turned away from both his general and the door.

"Che," he snarled, and without another word he put his back on them and yanked the sheets up until they covered his head.

Tiedoll chuckled fondly, sitting on the edge of the mattress and looking as if he had not moved from the spot since last night. "Oh, oh, oh," he murmured soothingly, laying a hand on the lump's shoulder, and it jerked viciously. "Don't mind us, Miss Miranda." He sounded very amused. "We're not having a very good morning."

Kanda was _crying._

Miranda didn't know whether to join him or not. Putting him under Time Recovery now would be terribly embarrassing for him, but he would have this memory no matter when she did it. And it wasn't as though they could simply skip an order from those that high in the organization. There was no doubt Kanda would have to go, whether he wanted to or not.

And he did not. After what she'd heard yesterday, she couldn't blame him. And even in this state, he obviously knew who she was and why she was there.

"I think we had a nightmare," Tiedoll continued, in that same voice. "Matron's going to evaluate her options and try for something a little less powerful this evening."

That could explain her absence and Kanda's tears. He certainly had enough to cry about, and with what Nurse Lydia had said last night, they had drugged him quite heavily in an effort to ensure that he slept. He must have been exhausted, and probably would have slept on his own, but it was important to remember that as childlike as he seemed, Kanda was probably the most dangerous child that had ever lived. When a six year old threw a tantrum, no adult would be seriously hurt.

There was nothing protecting the general if Kanda decided that he had had enough, and she knew full well that Kanda, even weakened, was strong enough to kill someone. The general seemed positively oblivious to the threat, rubbing Kanda's shoulder soothingly through the blanket. At some point he had stopped protesting the touch and now simply lay there and presumably was waiting for them to go away.

If only it was that simple. Then again, once the panel was over and they could let him do as he liked, the drugs wouldn't be necessary. That was all the more reason to finish things up quickly. How many more questions could they possibly ask him?

The inspectors at the door were silent, not rushing them, but she had put off arriving early, remembering her conversations yesterday. That Kanda was going to have to learn to get along the way he was now. Learn to eat again, bathe again, speak and move around again. It seemed he had not even made it out of bed this time, let alone to eat breakfast, and there wasn't enough time to let him figure out how to do it.

Miranda subsided in the doorframe at the thought. Another matter of time she couldn't do anything about.

"Yuu-kun," the general tried, and the lump twitched. "Yuu-kun, Jerry wanted to see you. Do you remember?"

So, breakfast.

"I think he mentioned nori. Do you remember what that is?"

The lump was still.

"_Asahan_."

The lump did not move, and Tiedoll sighed. "My memory of Japanese is quite bad, I'm afraid. I suppose I should ask the Bookman to translate for me."

Not that they could be sure Kanda remembered any more Japanese than he remembered English.

"I think, for now, it would be appropriate to put him under Time Recovery, if you would be so kind."

Even his time seemed reluctant to come to her, though it weighed no more than before, and when Kanda emerged stiffly from his blanket cocoon, his face was dry. He did not say a word, and Tiedoll stood back to let him get out of bed. He wore only a loose set of pants that cinched at his waist, and Miranda gasped before she could think not to.

His tattoo was different.

It wasn't just over his heart where she remembered it from the Ark, licking at his left arm a bit. Now it fully covered his left shoulder, past his elbow, and stretched across his entire chest. Tendrils crept towards his navel, and the symbol in the center of the sunlike pattern was no longer what had looked like a stylized three.

Kanda glanced at her, and Miranda bit her lower lip and dropped her eyes. "I-I'll just wait in the hall," she stammered, though Marie leapt out of her memories with a frown, pointing out she was doing exactly what apparently irritated Kanda the most about her. When she made it out of the room again, the inspectors were no more or less happy to see her than before, though Jerry was now standing there. At his feet was a very low bench of sorts, and a large rectangular silver box.

Asahan, as it turned out, apparently meant breakfast. And by the looks (and smells) of things, it was not the usual British fare.

But Kanda seemed not to notice. He walked out of his room with a small cedar basket under his arm, not looking at either of them, and the two inspectors moved with him, one in front and one behind, in the general direction of the washrooms.

General Tiedoll did not follow them.

Miranda decided she was no longer needed – she could hold this time if Kanda was in the North Pole, after all – and though Jerry did his best to catch her eye she pretended she didn't notice, and hurried in the opposite direction.

-x-

So he _had_ managed to lie to the mystery Noah after all. Probably had cost him dearly, too.

General Kloud Nyne crossed her long legs to accommodate the warm ball in her lap that was currently trying unsuccessfully to burrow against her stomach. Every time he started dozing, Lau Jimin would start to slide and rather than using his normal relaxed sprawl, he seemed to want to remain more curled up.

Her Innocence had stopped watching Kanda yesterday morning, which told her more than anything that whatever else he had to say was not of global importance. Now Leverrier was looking for details that could be gathered a myriad of other ways.

This was a waste of time and an exercise in humiliation, and she did not approve of either. Then again, it wasn't her place to say it. Her students were all dead, victims of Tyki Mikk, and Tiedoll still had his half-intact.

Half, in the case of the dark-haired Asian lifelessly speaking of his one and only success, but Noise Marie was still alive and well. If not for Daisya he could technically say all his pupils had survived. She supposed she could count the Bookman and his apprentice as her own, but they hardly answered to her. All she had done was find them and been the carrier of the Innocence that had chosen them. Once they had learned to use it, they were no more her apprentices than the samurai standing in front of them.

She had known Kanda quite a long time, when he was little more than a boy. He was not the oldest Exorcist, certainly, nor the best, but there was no one other than Sokaro she could think of that could have survived what he had survived. And after all that suffering, to be ruined and abandoned . . .

Without turning her head, she spoke. "You should end this."

They were far enough from Leverrier that they could speak quietly without interfering too much, and the room was filled with the sound of Yuu's brittle voice. The Bookman might be able to hear them, but this was nothing that needed to remain private.

In fact, it needed to be heard.

Tiedoll was sitting beside her as he had for the past two days, obviously exhausted even to her. The inhuman effort it was taking him not to cry the entire time was only partly to blame. Central administration, Leverrier, even Komui really didn't realize what it felt like, when an Exorcist and their Innocence fully understood one another. Fully cooperated. Only the generals and perhaps Walker had any real concept of what it had taken to do what Bookman and the others said they saw Tiedoll do.

That effort had probably come close to killing him. It would take him months to recover, if he did at all. She certainly hadn't. Not that she wouldn't overextend herself again, in a moment, if it meant saving one of her apprentices. Lau cuddled against her more tightly, wrapping his tail around her thigh, and she ran a hand over his back.

There was also the question of how much it had taken out of Maker of Eden. She knew for a fact Lau Jimin had given more effort than she had, the time they had faced Jasdero. Yet she knew her Innocence wouldn't fear that pain any more than she did. She would no longer be a Critical if either of them did.

"Froi." It wasn't like him to ignore her.

He shifted marginally, sighing silently. "What would you have me do, Kloud?" His smile was painful even in her peripheral vision. "Let him go?"

Yes. He was clearly in no shape to continue fighting. He would get himself into more trouble than he could get himself out of, and they would lose his Innocence, even if he survived.

"Mugen will."

The other general's hand curled around his armrest. "Mugen will not abandon him."

Poor choice of words, then. "Mugen will not sit idly by while this war continues." Not if they were near the end. "That Innocence is necessary if we're to survive. He would be the first to tell you." Maybe Kanda already had.

"Innocence adapts to the accommodator. If Yuu wants it enough, Mugen will help him."

Maybe. They didn't really know why Lenalee's Innocence had changed, and certainly another exception to the rule was lying in her lap trying very hard to ignore everything going on.

"Do you want that end for him?"

"I will not discard him." Tiedoll's voice was full of everything he was not allowing Kanda to see. "He deserves more."

There was no arguing with that. But if Leverrier asked them to choose, to either give the samurai back his Innocence or not . . . that was really for the Innocence to decide. She would make that point. Ultimately, Mugen could see into Kanda Yuu's soul deeper than any of them. But it was plain, as plain as Tiedoll's pain, that the young man was broken. Maybe if he hadn't sustained that final injury, maybe if he could function without Lotto's Time Record holding him in stasis, things would be different.

But they weren't. He did deserve better, but the Order used him as they used all the other Exorcists, and they had been sacrificed the moment they had been chosen by their Innocence.

Kloud stroked Lau Jimin, and did not regret.

"But what you said was not a complete untruth." No matter how bad he looked in all this, Komui still had his thinking cap on. He had left the young Exorcist with the enemy for too long, just barely too long to hear Yuu tell it, and had had to resort to Allen Walker, of all ways, to get him out. If Lee didn't stop antagonizing Leverrier, he was going to find himself out of a job.

And she highly doubted a previous Supervisor of the Central HQ was allowed to take retirement. His saving grace was that Central administration suspected his sister was the Heart. She had more power than he did, right now, but she was young and so very fragile.

And so very, _very_ pissed off.

Kloud rather liked Lenalee, even with shorter hair. She had grown a great deal. Her Innocence reflected that, but the change was for the better. Perhaps now she was so angry with her older brother she would forget how terrified she was of Leverrier.

Either way she was Komui's only ticket out of this mess.

"No," Kanda admitted hoarsely.

"Did you continue attempts to mislead him after your success?"

"Yes."

"But he knew every time you lied directly," Komui guessed.

"Yes."

"And punished you in the method you previously described?"

There was a pause from the usual string of affirmatives. In fact, he did not answer at all, and while that might be accepted as admittance by some, she had long ago seen the pattern of it. He would not lie to them, so he simply said nothing.

Something he'd already admitted he tried with the Noah. Then again, Kanda Yuu had had too much pride for lying before. It was just hard to tell if this was a shred of pride or a shred of training.

"A very convenient gift," Leverrier observed icily. "You have a ready excuse for every indiscretion."

To this Kanda also said nothing, and Kloud resisted the urge to call Froi out again. If he was waiting for Kanda to grow a pair and stop treating Leverrier with the same deference as he apparently had his Noah master, they were going to be here a very long time -

"You knew four days ago that I did not betray the Order." It wasn't accusatory in the slightest, delivered in the same factual tone as everything else. Still, at least it was a challenge, even if a polite one.

"The panel is aware that your synchronization rate has been cut in half. Whether it is because of your current condition or disloyalty shown to the Order and your sworn duty is the matter to be decided."

Lau Jimin picked up his head at that, and she took that as her cue that her Innocence was about to lose its patience, scamper over to Leverrier, and pee all over his reports. Lau had done that once at her mental suggestion, and it had been a very effective means of ending the meeting. "Is that all?" she called into the room. "We could have done that days ago."

"Agreed," Bookman's voice was coarse sand to her river. "We have delved into a deeper level of detail than is necessary to determine such things. His indiscretions are significant but small."

Leverrier took visual stock around the room, and Kloud made sure to convey her boredom.

"Very well. If there are no objections, we will make the decision now." He seemed a bit put out at shortening his questioning, but no one indicated they were opposed to making the decision after three full days of interrogation. It was probable the weak-stomached administrators simply weren't up to hearing anything more. "Those voting against a verdict of treason?"

Nearly all the hands went up, a vast though not full majority, and Kloud stifled a snort at the hands that were still in laps. Those paper pushing morons had no idea what it was to fight on the front lines. And one of them was the one Yuu had made sick with a fairly short description of just one of the punishments he'd endured while in the hospitality of the Noah.

Leverrier didn't bother with taking the other count. "Given his condition, restoring him to an active status is impossible." It was almost dismissive. "He will be evaluated for a week's time and a recommendation for rehabilitation or retirement shall be made to Central administration."

"And what of Mugen?"

At least Tiedoll wasn't going to let everything pass him by. She had a feeling Mugen was the only reason Kanda Yuu had bothered to cooperate with them. He would be wanting his Innocence back.

"Exposure to his Innocence shall be part of the assessment." Komui managed to make it sound less clinical than Leverrier would have. "It was clear that he remembered it."

The inspector gave Komui a long, cool look. "I leave his assessment to you, then, Supervisor. This panel is adjourned."

Retirement. She couldn't think of a single Exorcist who had been 'retired.' One couldn't simply put down a piece of Innocence and ask it to choose a new wielder. Innocence remained loyal to its chosen accommodator until that person died or betrayed it, in which case both Fell. And Leverrier had already tested for that. Then again, it wasn't as if the Order could quietly murder Kanda Yuu in his sleep. If the Noah hadn't managed it when trying, at the very least he was safe from his own side.

Cross Marian had probably thought the same thing.

Tiedoll rose quickly, intent on catching up with Yuu as headed purposefully for the door. Headed for Mugen, no doubt. She followed more leisurely, having no intention of accompanying them. Hevlaska and General Tiedoll, and maybe Tiedoll's apprentices should be there, but there was no need for other eyes. If Mugen hadn't rejected him earlier, the Innocence wouldn't now.

Though that German woman Lotto was going to have to release him, just in case. She hmmed quietly and let Lau swarm up her shoulder. So _that_ was why Tiedoll was in such a hurry to accompany him. And here she thought it was so he could start crying on the poor boy.

"Komui, a word."

Leverrier had looped the room quickly, and he returned her bland glance with something more calculating. "And you as well, General, if you don't mind."

Lau chattered in her ear, softly, and she accepted the suggestion, stepping to the side of the room with Komui. He was sweating.

"It is unlikely that Yuu will make significant growth if he is constantly under the influence of Miranda Lotto's Innocence. Though it will enable him to enter combat, his synchronization rate is of great concern."

"He's not incapable of recovery." Komui's voice was crisp. "Nor incapable of learning. There is nothing preventing a full return-"

"But time," Leverrier cut him off. "I would have said the same of Allen Walker, after his injury, or Lenalee Lee after hers. I wonder if perhaps Kanda's Innocence can be convinced to evolve as well." The inspector's eyes were hard. "He is singularly suited to tolerate more direct techniques, wouldn't you agree?"

Komui managed to gape without opening his mouth, but Kloud didn't so much as frown. The Order periodically would get paranoid about their numbers of Exorcists and attempt to force Innocence to accept accommodator. The generals had always known about these things, simply because one had to be around in case the experiment went awry and resulted in a Fallen.

Usually a Fallen could be expected to exhaust themselves and the Innocence would eventually kill them, even if a general did not. The amount of damage they could do in the meantime could be partially contained by the science team, but she herself had been present for one such experiment, in America, and the sheer amount of power released was an awesome sight.

Kanda, on the other hand, would survive far longer than any normal Fallen, because of that curse. The amount of energy the Innocence would have to take from him would be huge. And killing him, even in that condition, would be nearly impossible. It would take more than one general.

"Inspector-"

Leverrier didn't even hesitate. Clearly he thought the risks were worth the rewards, even if that reward was a broken but combat-capable Exorcist. In fact he ignored Komui altogether, focusing on her. "And should Mugen evolve into a 'crystal' type Innocence, and restore sufficient memories and skills, I would like you to accept him as a pupil, General Kloud. General Tiedoll recently acquired a new apprentice, and it may be that Kanda will require special attention should he and Komui be successful. Perhaps your own Innocence can be of use in this instance." He granted her a smile. "They say animals can speed rehabilitation."

Lau Jimin gave the inspector such a dark look that she almost laughed aloud. He seemed oblivious, turning on his heels with a careless wave. "Your hearing has been delayed until next week, Supervisor. I look forward to your success."

Komui was frozen, look of shock still upon his face, and Kloud felt an odd, nagging sympathy for the man. The threat was obvious; Komui would be found in contempt of his orders and removed from his position if he did not successfully precipitate the evolving of Kanda's Mugen. And unspoken was a further threat, that additional penalties could be placed on Allen Walker.

It didn't negate the power Lenalee Lee had to counter Leverrier. Komui needed to be shocked less and thinking more.

"Whatever you decide, do it quickly," she announced, starting for the door. "I should have been back out in the world days ago, and I dislike being caged."

-x-

There was no yelling today. Perhaps everyone was too tired to yell, or had heard so many horrible things nothing shocked them anymore, but there were no raised voices, and no one was sick in the hall.

Kapp was staring at whatever thing on the wall he enjoyed staring at, but every once in a while she caught Lieutenant Showl out of the corner of her eye, giving her curious looks.

In a way, she was both welcoming and dreading the day that Kanda would have told them enough, and they would let him go. Komui had seemed to think it wouldn't be long, once they had gotten the information they wanted, they would dismiss the panel, and then Kanda-

And then Kanda would want to go back out into the field. To fight, to find the Noah that had done this to him and kill him.

At least, she thought he would. And even if Lavi had told her she hadn't heard the whole story, even if he hinted there was more to it than that, she simply couldn't reconcile what she had heard Kanda say with her own ears to any rational thought.

So she didn't try. She wasn't supposed to have overheard it anyway, and it would be easy enough to pretend that she hadn't heard it. That she hadn't seen how bad Komui looked. That she hadn't seen the disapproval in Chaoji's eyes when he'd been getting wrapped up in the infirmary. That she hadn't seen Kanda flinching away from his own general like he didn't know who he was.

But there would come a time when he wanted to take Mugen and go, and what was she to do then? Make him ask her to help him? Just assume she knew what he wanted? Place him under Time Recovery and just see what it was he did?

It wasn't as if they _wouldn't_ let him go, was it? If Allen was still allowed to function as an Exorcist when they all knew he would eventually become a Noah himself-

Perhaps they would assign an inspector to Kanda, as well?

She hoped it would not be Lieutenant Kapp.

"Things seem calm today," Showl observed, as if reading her mind.

Miranda just gave a jerky nod, and the lieutenant sighed.

"Kapp did not mean to accuse you of heresy, yesterday," he plowed on, sounding a little uncomfortable. "If he offended you , Miss Lotto, I sincerely apologize-"

Miranda glanced over at him, then shook her head. "No, I - . . . he was right." She bit her lip. "I would reach outside of my bounds if I could."

Though she was still not certain she would agree to help Kanda get himself killed, she was certain that she would make it so it had never happened. One of those was within her power, and the other was not. Her priorities-

Right or wrong, she believed in them. "If Time Record allowed me to, I would make it so that this had never happened. That _is_ heresy, isn't it?"

Showl was quiet, and then, surprisingly, Kapp spoke into the silence. "He isn't your friend, is he. That Exorcist in there."

That should have been obvious from the way Kanda ignored her. Then again, if they used Kanda's most recent behavior as the measuring stick of him, they would have thought Kanda and Allen were great friends, and that couldn't have been farther from the truth. The thought made her smile. "In truth, he despises me, but . . . I respect him. I do not believe he betrayed us." The last she said with surety.

So what if they'd heard Kanda say he gave a Noah information about other Exorcists. He must have had a reason, he must have been somehow protecting them. Even if Chaoji didn't trust him, that didn't matter. Chaoji didn't trust Allen, either, and she-

She did. He was Allen Walker. He had told her 'thank you.' He had trusted her and fought for her and believed in her. Maybe her instincts weren't the ones that were wrong. Maybe her priorities weren't, either.

"And what will you do if he is found guilty?" Kapp was now looking directly at her, piercingly. As if she were on trial herself.

Guilty? Guilty of protecting them? Kanda would certainly find that to be a negative thing, their knowing that he had protected them. "He won't be," she said simply.

"And if he isn't, if he is left mewling in a corner while his Innocence is unable to take up the fight, you will try to defy God and restore him?"

She was shocked, shocked by his language, shocked by the callousness in which he reduced proud Kanda Yuu to nothing. They had heard what Kanda had said as clearly as she had, and they had already made up their minds. She curled her hands around the edges of her chair.

". . . yes," she said, just above a whisper. "Yes I will."

Kapp snorted derisively and continued, though Showl was looking more and more disapproving. "You would risk Hell for someone who despises you?"

"He's an Exorcist." She heard her voice raised, echoing back to her from the halls, and she took a quick breath. "He did the best he could, better than I could have. The least I can do for him is try."

"The least you can do," Kapp echoed. "The least you can do is surpass a miracle."

"Lieutenant-" Showl cut in warningly, and the other lieutenant snorted and went back to staring at his wall.

Miranda realized she was shaking only when it was hard to pry her fingers off the edges of her chair, and she tried very hard to keep her breathing even. "Maybe you're right," she admitted quietly. "Maybe I can't. I probably can't, no matter how much I want to. But if I try and I can't, then what have I lost? A little time? Perhaps he'll despise me just a little more for failing?" There was always rebound, which Komui kept warning her about, and the fact that she overdid it most of the time she used Time Record in battle, but-

But Kanda had suffered worse than rebound for them. He had earned it.

"Why stop there?" Kapp's voice was dry. "Why not just wish the Earl out of existence."

"That's enough," Showl said, with a hint of a growl. "She's an Exorcist-"

But oddly, she found the comment intriguing. Why not just wish the Earl out of existence. Time Record would remove a Noah's influence from a human, at least it had for Lenalee. It had taken the dream Rhode had given her away, at least temporarily. What if she put a Noah into Time Recovery?

It would seem that as long as she could hold it, she would remove the Noah's influence from the human.

She could prevent Allen from succumbing to his Noah as long as she held him under her Innocence. She could try to put the _Earl_ into Time Recovery. But then, was he a Noah?

"I'll try that the next time I see him," she murmured, not meaning it sarcastically in the slightest, and beside her, Showl shifted uncomfortably.

"Miss Exorcist-"

"The lieutenant is right. Again." She smiled. "I had not thought of it, but there's no reason I could not place a Noah under Time Record. Maybe it would just heal their wounds, but maybe . . ." Maybe it would remove the Noah long enough to let Allen exorcise it. Let Kanda destroy it. "Thank you, very much!"

Kapp rolled his eyes without actually moving them, and Showl was just about to say something more when the doors opened once more. This time, though, the first person into the hall was none other than Kanda Yuu. He gave her the barest of glances, then jerked his head in a 'come hither' motion, and she hesitated.

Had he simply decided he'd had enough? " . . . K-Kanda-"

Behind him came an inspector, and then General Tiedoll. Kanda did not wait for either of them, continuing down the hall with his guard, and the general beamed at her.

"I'm terribly sorry for the trouble, Miranda. Kanda is going to collect Mugen, but I believe it would be best if he did so without the aid of Time Record. Would you be so kind as to accompany us until we reach Hevlaska's chambers?"

Oh. _Oh!_ "Oh, yes, of course." She jumped up from the chair, hurrying beside the long-striding general without even remembering to say goodbye.

Showl and Kapp watched her go, waiting until there was a gap in the staff leaving the panel room before exchanging a look.

_What did you think?_

The look was inconclusive, and Showl sighed deeply. It took Inspector Leverrier several minutes to conclude his business, so it was Inspector Link that approached them first.

"Lieutenants," he greeted coolly, and both men nodded to him. "Report."

They exchanged another look, and Showl relinquished first report to his companion. Kapp was frowning deeply.

"She's too easy to influence and discourage."

As if there could be such a thing, in an Exorcist. Of course, if they could do it, so could the enemy.

Link waited for Kapp to go on, but he offered nothing further. "And you? What was your impression?"

"Favorable," he said, without hesitation. "She's ambitious and eager to prove herself."

"And were you able to make suggestions?"

Showl stiffened and bowed to Leverrier, noting Kapp doing the same. "Yes sir."

"What did she think?"

General Kloud and Komui had come up behind Leverrier, and it was obvious he knew they were there, so Showl felt it was safe to keep speaking. "She seemed to think it was possible."

"She took it too far," Kapp disagreed. "Very literal." He hesitated. "I shudder to think what would happen if she actually attempted to place the Earl under Time Recovery."

"She has no idea how powerful her Innocence is," Showl added. "Nor of her importance."

Leverrier gave them a short nod. "Thank you for your assessment. Inspector Link, please take a full report."

The head inspector continued down the hall, his hands folded behind his back, and Showl inclined his head to the supervisor and general as they passed by. If Supervisor Komui seemed surprised he did not show it, but Howard Link watched all three of them walk away until they were out of sight.

It was hard to believe the rumors, the blonde inspector and Crow appeared fine despite what he'd heard rumor of occurring, and his eyes were as sharp as ever when they swiveled back to them.

"Please repeat the conversations, if you would be so kind."

-x-

**Author's Notes**: Some of you noted that you'd started to see a corrolation between the titles and content of the chapters. I think this chapter might have made the 'error' a bit more obvious than last one, but I think I can say with certainty that most of the shit's gonna hit the fan next chapter. The last chapters will be cleanup, but I still say they'll end with two more chapters (which is really four, if you're reading both.) Let's see if I can really do it this time!

Well, remember waaaaaaay back when I said that I usually give the feedbacker who goes above and beyond a little gift to show my appreciation? That time is upon us!

This one was kinda tough, folks, because it's not just number of reviews, it's content. After lots of hemming and hawing I have determined that the feedbacker that went the most out of their way to follow this thing from beginning to end is **melric**! Which is a problem, because **melric** is not a registered user so I have no way to email her. ; ) **Melric**, if you could be a dear and drop me a line, I think my email is linked from my profile, but it is also jaya _ gm at hot mail dot com.

It should be noted that the runners-up (and I never do those because it's never quite this close) were **phoebe** and **Shinigami's Voice**! You guys rock, and I love you bunches. I love all my reviewers bunches, because you tell me what works and what doesn't, and help me get better and have fun!

So **melric**! Please get in contact with me! You get a fanfic of your choice, any fandom I know and can write, any pairing, any content! It can be 'unseen scenes' from this, or something unrelated - can even be smut if you want. The only thing I draw a line at is sequels - I will never do that again. ::glares at silverfox::


	19. Chapter 14 CIM: Consequences

Disclaimer in previous chapters. Please see Author's Notes at the end.

**NOTE**: This is a **CIM** (Curse is Magical) chapter. **CIM** supposes a curse can restore beyond what is capable by the human body. Please note that **CIM** and **CIP** chapters **will share some content****.** They will simply move in different directions.

-x-

**Four Days Later**

As annoying as Lavi could be, his instincts were unusually sharp. And usually correct.

In this case, they had been dead on.

Allen knew that, for others, eating lunch with him was a problem. First, there was the amount of food on the table around him. Not only did Crown Clown require a lot of sustenance, he actually enjoyed eating. He liked the way food looked. He liked the way food tasted. He enjoyed the act of chewing it, smelling it, feeling the texture on his tongue. He _enjoyed_ eating, in the way Lavi enjoyed naps and Lenalee enjoyed keeping the science department wired on coffee.

Then there was the fact that watching him eat all that food was something that most other people did _not_ enjoy. Add to it the fact that Jerry enjoyed making it for him, and ensuring that he was full, and trying new recipes on him, and you ended up with a table groaning with food that most other people would not eat (or smell) at the same meal, making him not the greatest lunching partner one could wish for.

But Lavi had been insistent. And while he was clearly irritating the person they had come to rescue, Allen had to admit, surrounding Kanda Yuu with Exorcists and taking up the rest of the table with food did provide an oasis for the samurai.

But the larger problem remained. And that was that Kanda appeared to _need_ that oasis.

Allen emptied another kabob of its beef, onions, and peppers, and chewed thoughtfully. Generally speaking, the Finders liked him. They absolutely adored Lenalee and Lavi, and granted, things had changed a little when the announcement had been made that he was the chosen host for the Fourteenth, but most of the Order staff and guards and scientists still trusted him. He went out of his way to be the same friendly vacuum of food and in general, he didn't have too much of a problem.

And, generally speaking, the staff at the Order, particularly the Finders, respected Kanda in the way one respects a scorpion that's too big to catch in a glass and throw outside, and too dangerous to try to step on. They kept an eye on him, and appreciated him from afar, but didn't get too close, and most held varying degrees of fear.

This feeling, though, it wasn't fear. And it wasn't going away.

Because of his meal, Allen was sitting in the middle of the table, and the rest of it, to his right, was his lunch. To his left sat Lavi, and across from them were Lenalee and Kanda. And even fully surrounded by Exorcists that were loved, Allen could feel the looks Kanda was getting.

He'd gotten the same, when the announcement was first made, but not to this extent. And while he'd said nothing of what he'd heard during the trial, it seemed everyone was aware of the final verdict.

Kanda Yuu had killed nine Finders with his own hands, and yet somehow not been found guilty of treason.

He could understand why it wasn't sitting well with the Finders, but the fact of the matter was there was nothing Kanda could have done about it, and that was the part Allen was beginning to suspect had not been communicated by the rumor mill.

He snuck a glance at the samurai as he grabbed another kabob, but Kanda was quietly eating his lunch, seemingly oblivious of all of them. That, at least, would have been reassuring, _normal_, if not for the fact that there was nothing . . . arrogant about it. He wasn't ignoring them because he was better than they were, he was just ignoring them. Like a normal person preoccupied with something else.

It just wasn't the same. The condescension was gone. Something innately irritating about Kanda was just . . . absent. Allen couldn't put his finger on it, nor determine why it was that he missed it, but he did. Somehow Kanda was not _Kanda_ without it.

He hadn't even made a comment about half of Allen's food being sweets.

"Y'know, I get the feeling Link's feeling usurped," Lavi commented, nodding his chin to the table behind Kanda and Lenalee. Kanda's inspectors, for some reason, did not feel the need to follow him quite as closely as Howard Link felt the need to follow Allen. They were content to sit at the table beside him, and wonder of wonders, Link had joined them. Their heads were bowed slightly in conversation that couldn't be overheard if he'd been standing right behind them, but Allen could still feel Link's gaze on him more frequently than not.

"Hmph," Allen replied, vaguely disappointed to find he'd eaten the last kabob. "I thought he was bad until I ended up with Nikolai."

"And he always seemed so polite as he was dragging you around HQ by your hair." Lavi tsked, then leaned forward. "So'd you learn any good Russian swearwords?"

"Nyet. Eto kartoshka."

Lavi blinked at him, nonplussed, and Lenalee glanced over curiously. "What does that mean?"

"No, it is a potato," Lavi translated. "Do I want to know the context of this comment?"

"Well," Allen began drily, "there was this potato, see, and-"

Kanda interrupted them by placing his chopsticks neatly over his empty teacup and rising. Behind him, two shadows rose as well, seemingly also happening to conveniently finish their meals, and without a word to them Kanda stepped over the bench and headed for the door.

"I guess he isn't interested in the potato," Lavi concluded, loudly enough for Kanda to hear him. "Oi, Yuu-chan, we still on for sparring this afternoon?"

Even baiting him didn't get a rise out of him, but he did stop and even turned his head ever so slightly to his right.

"Yes."

And then he kept walking.

In previous days, if Kanda had done that, Allen would have rolled his eyes, or called something rude after him, or possibly even thrown some food. This time, he couldn't think of anything to say, and his eyes fell, passing over Lenalee's face on their way to the table.

Her lips were pressed together and her straight-cut bangs were not enough to hide her expression. Kanda might have answered Lavi, which was better than absolute silence, but he wasn't really responding.

He didn't want their help. Yet at the same time, he had accepted it. He hadn't gotten up when they'd sat down, hadn't chased them off. In fact, Allen hadn't heard him threaten anyone with death _or_ Mugen since he had retrieved it from Hevlaska four days ago.

Then again, Allen's world had shrunk considerably. He got to eat in public. That was about the extent of it. The rest of the time he was 'strongly encouraged' to remain in his quarters, while Central and the Vatican apparently considered what to do now that he had shown himself to be disobedient.

"Don't worry about it, Allen-kun." Lavi's grin was as carefree as usual. "He'll be his grumpy old self soon enough. This afternoon, even, if I beat 'im."

Allen nodded, though all three of them knew that wasn't true, and he looked up again, locating the departing samurai already several tables away. It was fairly easy, in fact, because a very tall, blonde-headed Finder was stalking down the central aisle, directly toward Kanda Yuu. Two other Finders were hanging off his beefy arms, their feet sliding uselessly on the floor as they tried to hold him back.

Allen and Lavi both were on their feet instantly, and in front of them, Link had done the same, but the rest of the mess hall was oblivious until the Finder's words thundered over the dull roar.

"-MAKES MY FOOD TASTE BAD! DO YOU REMEMBER?!"

Allen did remember. It was what Kanda had told Boz, the Finder he had insulted on Allen's very first morning with the Order, and his eyes slid to Kanda uncertainly. The other Exorcist had come to a stop, having to look up at the taller Finder as he approached.

The inspectors with him were not impressed. "Move aside," one of them ordered.

"NO!" There was the sound of a bench and possibly several people being overturned, and behind that first tall Finder, several others also stood. Kanda's inspectors moved from following him to flanking him, but the show of solidarity didn't seem to sway the furious Finder any more than their order had. "I can't sleep until I know why Aberie had to die!"

Beside him Lavi was already lapping the table, and Allen was about to follow, but Lenalee's arm shot out and caught the redhead's sleeve. Her back was still to Kanda and the Finders. The Bookman's apprentice turned, but the protest died on his lips as Lenalee's expression convinced him to remain where he was.

Krory's words were echoing loudly in Allen's ear. _Trust him to win this fight, as he was unable to win the one before._ But this wasn't a fight. Allen had been present long enough to know what Kanda had been tried with, even if it wasn't what he had been on trial for. He _had_ killed Aberie Wells. And eight other finders; Thomas Dunn, Gaston Eudach, Miklos Tamas, Itziar Soto, Marciel Castillo, Torben Fleisher, Ru Yi Chou and Tsu Yen Liang.

And if the inspectors didn't prevent it, Kanda would probably end this discussion exactly as he had ended the last. Given the level of tension in the mess hall, Allen was a little concerned it wouldn't stop with just one Finder.

"Don't you ignore me, you coward!" It was a snarl, and the Finder steadily advanced, ignoring the quieter pleas of the men still trying to turn him back. "Is it true, what they're saying? That you killed those on your own side?"

"Hey, take it easy-" Allen was surprised that the voice wasn't Lavi's – another Finder stood, putting himself in the dwindling space directly between the Finder and his target.

"Get out of my way, Sky," the first growled. "That piece of shit! Central wouldn't have assigned him guards if he wasn't guilty! And I'm not gonna stand one more second with a traitor under our roof!"

"Sit down." Link had begun to stalk up the aisle, and he didn't sound even remotely amused. "Your conduct is unbecoming –"

"Stick it in your ear!" the blonde shouted back. "You ponces from Central think that Exorcists can do no wrong! He's always been a rotten apple but you allow it and forgive him just because he has a piece of Innocence-"

"Yeah, that's right." Another Finder swung his leg over the side of the bench near Sky, but didn't stand. "So put a sock in it, _Dick_, before he decides to use it."

"Slom, you're not helping-"

"Don't tell me you of all of us are going to defend him!" It was almost spat. "Aberie was your _friend_! You recruited him, for God's sake! And he was cut down in the road like a dog!"

"Yeah." Slom's voice was sober. "Yeah, he was. So was Gaston, and Thomas, and Marciel and Torban. All nine of 'em dead the same way, by a sword." He swung his other leg over the bench and stood. "And right now the only thing keeping the guy you think killed 'em from murdering _you_ is Sky, and he wouldn't be here if it weren't for that ass."

"Richard, listen to yourself." Sky was almost begging. "You're accusing an Exorcist of heresy-"

"Then tell me you didn't do it!" It was a challenge, directly meant for Kanda, and Allen watched him set his chin down slightly in a mannerism he'd seen a thousand times before. "Look me in the eye and tell me you didn't kill Aberie!"

. . . surely Kanda wasn't really going to draw. Not in front of the inspectors. Not after everything he'd been through to get Mugen back-

"You're going too far-"

"I don't remember." Kanda's voice rang clear and uncaring across the room.

For a moment, Richard seemed to struggle with the words, and a dull murmur swept across the mess. It was too much like the panel room for Allen's taste, but he stayed where he was. This could not become Exorcists versus Finders.

If it did, that Noah had won.

"You . . . you don't remember . . ."

Kanda did turn, then, just slightly, in the direction of the inspectors. "Was that name one of the Finders that I killed?"

The silence was so complete that Allen could clearly hear Jerry's pots and pans, even from the middle of the mess.

". . . you son of a bitch! You don't even remember their _names_?!"

"I didn't ask them for their names," Kanda replied, in the same disinterested voice.

The giant Finder stepped forward, dangerously close to Sky, and whether it was his proximity or Kanda's answer, Sky gave ground. "Just wait-"

"Didn't ask them their names?" Allen recalled him now, the one they called Lionheart after Richard the Lionhearted, for his body structure and his veritable blonde mane. From offhand comments he knew the Finder was normally straightforward and fearless, and the rumors weren't untrue. His anger was visibly building in flushed cheeks and clenched fists, and if Sky wasn't careful he was going to get flattened. "Did you ask them anything? Did you even say ONE FUCKING WORD before you killed them?!"

Kanda paused, as if truly considering the question. "Not to them."

It was dangerously close to admitting the involvement of a Noah, which was pretty much common knowledge at this point, but Allen wasn't surprised to see that it bought Kanda nothing.

"Then I have just one more question." Sky had given all the ground he could, and stopped, but mercifully Richard stopped with him. "You tell me this, _Exorcist._ Why did Aberie die that day? What did _any_ of those men do to you?!"

Link had finished walking up the aisle but he stopped behind Kanda and the other two inspectors, and Richard's eyes darted between Kanda and the inspector. When the silence continued, his lip curled.

"Fine. Hide behind your guards and this cowed fool, Kanda, I know-"

"Nothing," Kanda interrupted. Allen was pretty sure it was in reference to the question of what the Finders had done to him, but couldn't help but approve of his timing. "It was better they died by my hand."

Richard stared at him, and then Sky turned, so that he was looking not at the furious Finder but at Kanda. ". . . you couldn't let them go?"

"They weren't worth it."

Lenalee closed her eyes and bit her lip.

"THEY WERE FINDERS!" The fist finally swung, a gesture more than a blow meant to hit anyone, but the inspector on Kanda's left grabbed Sky's collar and barely managed to yank him out of the way in time. "THEY WOULD HAVE DIED FOR YOU-"

"They did, you idiot!" Slom extricated the stumbling Sky from the inspector's grip, casually pulling him far enough away that none of Central's people could easily grab him again. "Aren't you listening?"

Richard rounded on the other Finder. "He just said-"

"He just said he didn't have a choice," Slom growled, letting Sky go with a shake. "He's an arrogant shit, Dick, but he doesn't kill for a lark."

"He stepped in front of a wall of Akuma for me," a new voice called, from several tables away. "Saved me and got torn up even though there was still a level two there-"

"And y'know how annoying Gozu is," Slom grumbled.

"Same for me," Sky added.

"So what." Richard's voice was hardly above a growl. "What did you come back with that was worth _more_ than the lives of nine good men?"

"Valuable intelligence on the enemy." Kanda might have been facing the attack with unheard-of patience, but Link had clearly had enough. "He has answered your questions. Sit down."

"The hell he has-"

"Shut up," Slom advised. "Look at him. Would you even recognize him if he wasn't wearing Exorcist colors?"

Most of the Finders looked away rather than at Kanda at that point, and Lenalee bowed her head.

"If he could've let 'em go he would've. I don't blame him." The Finder named Slom turned around and walked back to his table, herding Sky with him. "The Noah are the ones to blame. Why don't you scream at them. You got about the same chance of survivin' it."

The sound of the bench moving was loud when Slom sat down, and it was like some kind of signal. Richard still looked furious, but a dull murmuring went up as conversations hesitantly resumed, and the Finders behind the blonde resumed trying to pull him away. He let them, his eyes never leaving Kanda, who ignored him completely and started walking again when one of his inspectors led the way. Allen was afraid Richard was going to toss some kind of missile at him, even if only an insult, but he didn't, and Link remained where he was, glaring openly at the tall Finder until he shook off his anchors and turned of his own volition back to his table.

Lavi sighed with something other than relief, and Allen agreed.

Kanda hadn't just allowed a Finder to attack him, he had allowed a Finder to _defend_ him. And he hadn't followed it with a threat to cut Sky down the next time he stood in front of him.

Normally Kanda's pride would not have entertained that for even a moment. The uncaring voice was not affected, then. Kanda honestly didn't give a crap what anyone else thought about that encounter.

It was his pride that was missing, Allen realized slowly.

"I think it's going to take a little longer than we thought," Lavi said quietly, and Lenalee gathered Kanda's forgotten bento box and stood.

-x-

"Your general hates me."

He lay on his back, panting and idly tracking a bead of sweat working its way down the nape of his neck. There was a canteen not far away; in fact, he could have asked Kanda's shadows for it but he was pretty sure they would ignore him.

The target of his conversation was not so relaxed as to totally collapse, and his legs were spread and bent, with his forearms resting on his knees and his head fallen back to look at the sky. Except his eyes were closed, and he was breathing harder than Lavi. He was also, regrettably, bleeding just a little.

Which was payback for the ridiculously stinging welt on the back of Lavi's thigh.

"He doesn't trust you." Kanda didn't budge from his position, though he let the bokken's hilt slip from his fist to his fingertips, and from there one end fell to the ground.

Just the hilt. The wooden blade was in pieces somewhere behind Lavi, along with however many segments his staff had become. The largest of them was still in his hand, but at Kanda's signal of truce he opened his fingers and let it roll jauntily away across the plaza stones.

"No, I really think the man doesn't like me." Lavi eased his skull into a shallow valley between two pavers. "Not sure he's crazy about gramps, either."

Kanda didn't bother to grace that with a reply, and the two slowly caught their breaths.

"Komui's gonna kill us."

Not that he was going to find out unless he was stalking Kanda via golem. Lenalee certainly wasn't going to tell him, she was far too angry with him for keeping that secret from her. And Kanda's shadows would most certainly report the encounter to Leverrier, who most certainly would not reveal it to Komui unless he wanted to show that he knew more about the goings on at HQ than the supervisor.

For supposedly being assigned to get the sordid details of Kanda's encounter with the unnamed Noah, those inspectors weren't asking many questions. They were, however, doing some listening. And if he wasn't off the mark, he was even detecting a slight amount of approval.

Either way they hadn't lifted a finger when the sparring had turned a touch too serious for a simple workout.

"Che."

Lavi blinked, then closed his eyes. "Sorry," he added, more quietly. "Didn't actually mean that joke."

Not that it was one.

"Then again, at least we didn't use our Innocence." After all, even without activation, Innocence could damage other Innocence. Ozuchi Kozuchi looked like any other piece of Innocence, it was humans that shaped it into the hammer, and that shape could be cut by Mugen as easily as a steel hammer could be marked with a steel blade. The last thing either of them wanted to do was give anyone an excuse to take Mugen away from Kanda, even if sparring without it had done nothing to increase Kanda's synchronization level.

Not that working with Mugen had. Komui had asked Hevlaska to evaluate Kanda that very morning, and the rate hadn't budged. Not that three days of being pressured to suddenly get over what had happened to him was helping matters any.

"You mad at me, Yuu-chan?"

Kanda's head slowly rolled forward, and Lavi felt his gaze on him, quiet, solemn. He didn't pick up his head to meet it, though; too tired. The other Exorcist might be underweight, out of shape, weakened from his injuries and miserable, but that didn't mean he couldn't still kick someone's ass in a sparring ring. He was either angry or he was out to prove something, and Lavi couldn't be sure who the latter would apply to.

Kanda couldn't find words easily, so Lavi tried again. "You told that Noah about me to prevent something from happening, didn't you."

It wouldn't do to use the word 'protect.' Not after the beating Kanda's pride had already taken.

More direct questions, Kanda could answer. Was in the habit of answering. "Yes." Lavi was going to hazard a guess when Kanda surprised him with more words. "He was afraid you could see abnormally far and might make out his face."

Which would have made the unknown Noah known. "You tell him about my other eye?"

"That's none of my business," Kanda countered. "I don't care about that."

Which was essentially a 'no.' "But you told him about my memory."

Kanda snorted. "You're the apprentice of a Bookman, baka. He already knew about that."

Lavi smiled up at the darkening sky. "It's narcissistic, you know? To want to know what people are saying about you."

Kanda didn't even bother to snort this time, and Lavi let that particular point drop. "What would he have done, if he thought I coulda seen him from the treeline?"

He thought he knew the answer, so Kanda surprised him by taking a long time to reply. "Made sure you weren't there."

"So had me killed, huh?"

Kanda made a sound in the negative. "Bookmen amuse him. Unless you were your usual baka usagi self."

Lavi sighed, then hefted himself into a sitting position, crossing his legs loosely on the stone. "If he wouldn't have killed me, why'd you do it?" Then he cocked his head to the side. "Giving him something harmless bought you an in. Or . . . you _wanted_ me to be there?"

Kanda glared at him, then closed his eyes. "Hmph. Whatever."

Certainly aiding Tiedoll would have been something Kanda saw as valuable, but against four level fours he couldn't have done much of anything. Perhaps Kanda hadn't known what his general was facing until he bought more trust from the Noah.

"Either way it's fine," Lavi commented offhandedly. "I'm sure Allen'll say the same thing."

"Che."

He thought about teasing Kanda about the fact that he had refused – always – to speak of the suspected Heart, but decided against it. Not when Kanda had finally gotten enough stress out of his system to open up a little. "So. . . is this a problem?" He indicated the piece of staff he'd let roll several feet away. "D'y'need me to volunteer for getting my ass kicked services or something so you can let off a little steam?"

Kanda's eyes snapped open in a definite glare. "You were off guard and sloppy. You deserved it."

He did not, however, accept the offer, merely got to his feet with less grace than usual. Lavi watched him bend to gather the broken pieces of the bokken and his eyes were drawn to the tattoo. He'd memorized it days ago, in its entirety, when Leverrier had made Kanda disrobe from the waist up to show the tattoo to the panel, but it still looked unreal to him.

"Heh. Maybe," he allowed, and dragged himself up as well. Rather than pick up the splinters he kicked them to the edge of the ring, then picked up one of the canteens and tossed it at Kanda, who caught it almost without looking.

Some things hadn't changed.

Lavi dumped his in the general direction of his mouth, sloshing some over his face and enjoying the cooling sensation. It had been a long day.

"So you'll improve my guard tomorrow, then?"

Kanda took a long pull from the canteen, and when he came up for air, his eyes were hooded. "You'll get a copy of the report they give Central."

The record. Kanda thought this was about the record.

"Yeah, I know," he said impatiently. "So are we on for tomorrow or what?"

Kanda continued to watch him, for so long it started to make him wonder if maybe Kanda really was angry with him, angry for being someone he considered a friend and there for the whole trial, for all the confessions and weakness and failures.

". . . whatever."

Lavi simpered at him. "Gee, what enthusiasm! I'm so glad you're back, Yuu-chan!"

The hilt of the bokken flew past and just clipped his ear as he ducked.

-x-

It was perhaps an hour before the sheets were filled out, and Kanda set down the pen and eased the cramp in his wrist. He would have preferred to use brushes but there simply wasn't room on the documents, which had been intended for English, and the only other option was to say everything he had just written aloud.

It didn't really make a difference but it did somehow, and he preferred a muscle cramp to having to hear the echo of the words in his ears.

He supposed he could carry the sheets to his door, which was still lockless, and hand them to the inspectors who were doubtlessly stationed outside. But that was too much effort, and he didn't particularly feel like being any more social than he already had. He glanced over the desk, forcing his eyes to take in the hourglass before standing and stretching.

The lights were killed in due time, and his shirt was tossed unceremoniously onto the floor. It was still a bit chilly but his blankets felt suffocating, so he lay on top of them, staring at a dark corner of his dark ceiling.

The general had left him alone today. Which was nothing but a positive thing; it allowed him to eat by himself, which he had failed to do, it allowed him to meditate with Mugen, which had not been successful, to spar with the idiot rabbit, at least that had been marginally helpful to his overall mood . . .

It worried him. If he was honest with himself and this cold place in his gut, he was afraid. Afraid that he was disappointing his general. Afraid that something would happen because of it.

Because of fucking Sheryl Camelot. He never used to _care_. The Noah had made him care, because disappointing that son of a bitch had _hurt_. And in a way, disappointing Tiedoll would hurt so much worse.

Dammit.

He threw an arm carelessly over his face, so that his eyes would at least stay closed, and forced himself not to see the things on the back of his eyelids. Theodore was waiting for him, was always waiting for him to screw up and the pit of his stomach was all too familiar in the darkness.

But opening his eyes meant no sleep, and that was just another victory for Sheryl.

The technique worked until he was nearly asleep. A puff of air washed over him, as if someone opened the door or window, and he could have sworn Theodore was right by his ear.

He twitched at the cold, but refused to move his arm. It was just another bullshit-

The window wasn't open. And neither was the door.

So he was asleep already.

Kanda didn't move, not even when something warm and supple wrapped around his forearm, too wide to be Theodore's strings and too long to be a hand. The thing slithered like a tongue beneath his arm to his face, and Kanda realized with a start that it was new.

This wasn't a memory.

His eyes flew open but there was nothing to be done. More warmth, around his legs, binding his arms, already around his mouth and nose and denying even the most muffled of yells. Not his eyes, though, they were left uncovered, and then he was lifted from the bed and into a rectangle of darkness that made the corner of his ceiling positively glow in comparison.

-x-

Movement, just behind the door. Significant enough that a breath of air puffed out from the crack beneath.

He ignored it entirely, even when Tasha twitched towards the doorknob.

Finn silently shook his head, once. _No. _Their charge was confined to his quarters, but he was not confined to his bed. If he wanted to pace, he fully had the right. The Exorcist was not at peace even in his sleep, perhaps more physical activity would exhaust him enough to escape his own mind, for a few hours at least.

There was no sound from within the Exorcist's quarters, for long enough that he had begun to wonder if perhaps the technique had worked, and then it came again. Just a puff, as if air pressure in the room had changed, just slightly.

Was he checking to see if they were there . . . ?

This time Tasha gave him a look that clearly said _This is unusual._ He agreed, and both turned, Tasha to watch the hall and him to knock on the door, once.

"Kanda Yuu."

There was no sound from within, not even the sole of a foot brushing the stone floor. He knocked again, barely louder, and then gave his companion a lingering look before he grasped the doorhandle.

"Kanda Yuu," he tried again, then pushed the door open, just slightly.

Nothing. No movement of air, no impression of body heat. The Exorcist was not standing near the door.

He pushed it all the way open, taking inventory. The desk bore neat stacks of paper, they had heard the scratching of the pen earlier. All of his assorted items were in their places, his decorations, the bathing basket, the lamp and candles and his Innocence on its stand. There was a long lump on the bed, curled partially on its side with its back to them, and the ink visible on the shoulders of the lump seemed to writhe just slightly beneath his skin.

The breathing was not labored. If he was in distress he clearly did not want to share.

Though he was going to be cold again. It was too chilly to sleep without a shirt or a blanket.

Finn watched the figure a moment, but it did not stir, and he pulled the door closed again. Whatever the reason, their charge was alive and still in his quarters, and after his reaction to being touched several days ago Finn didn't dare disturb him.

If he needed their assistance he would have to be more direct about it.

Tasha gave him a curious look, and he frowned slightly at the other man, taking up his position once again. "He has settled," was all he said, but that was all the information he needed to share. There was no need to question the Exorcist about every action, not when he was so relatively forthcoming. Morning was a long way off; if it happened again, they would simply open the door and find out what he wanted.

It did not repeat until just after dawn.

-x-

**Author's Notes**: A cliffhanger! You thought they were over and done with, didn't you. I believe the fic is indeed on track to end next chapter, though there will be a CIP chapter coming up soon. I will write these chapters as quickly as I can, guys, I don't mean to put you in suspense but this one's long as it is.

Gosh, I wonder who might've grabbed our Yuu-chan . . . care to make a wager?


	20. Chapter 14 CIP: Consequences

Disclaimer in previous chapters. Please see Author's Notes at the end.

**NOTE**: This is a **CIP** (Curse is Physical) chapter. **CIP** supposes a curse can accelerate the normal healing capabilities of the human body, but not surpass them. Please note that **CIM** and **CIP** chapters **will share some content****.** They will simply move in different directions.

**Content Warning****: **Tearjerk warning.

-x-

It was hard to tell if he was annoyed because he didn't understand, or because he did.

He had chosen – _chosen_ – a seat relatively close, to Komui's right. He sat in it properly as well, staring at the large white sheet of paper in front of him disinterestedly. Wax sticks in primary colors were scattered around the table, and Lavi was being as demonstrative as usual, to give him a clue if he didn't have one.

He knew what they were for. He just didn't seem to know what to _do_ with them.

"Yuu, y'member this?" The redhead nudged his quiet companion, pointing to a corner of his paper where there were stick people drawn with ridiculously large heads. Komui peered around Kanda and noted what looked like bunny ears on one of them. The stick figures were all standing around what was undoubtedly a Komurin.

Kanda glanced at it but then away, to the corner where Marie was sitting in a chair, quietly tuning a shamisen that Bak had been kind enough to provide. He didn't join him, nor did he seem to indicate that the plucking meant anything to him, but conversely it didn't seem to be irritating him nearly as much as Lavi was.

"Hey, Yuu-chan, what about this?"

Kanda responded again – he was learning his name, or had always remembered it and was just humoring them – by picking up a green stick of wax and marking firmly through the stick people, this time surrounding a level one Akuma.

"Aww. That wasn't nice, Yuu-chan."

He stared at the wax a moment, then marked his own paper with a line.

Komui remained still, leaned back unobtrusively in his chair with his clipboard balanced against his knee. "Do you know what color that is, Kanda-kun?"

Kanda ignored him, staring at the line he had made a moment before glancing across the table, where Allen was idly drawing what appeared to be a clown. Either it was too poorly drawn to be recognizable to Kanda, or he had never seen a clown before, because he cocked his head to the side and continued to watch Allen draw it. The white-haired boy seemed oblivious, filling in a bright red nose.

And Tiedoll continued his sketching, completely ignored, at the foot of the table. Komui did not have to look over his shoulder to know the object of the general's study, and much like Allen seemed unaware of his observer, Kanda literally paid his general no attention whatsoever, and hadn't the second he'd put the sketching easel into place.

Which probably meant that he recalled that the general sketched. Yet when Tiedoll had been fishing the charcoal out from his various other art-related implements, Kanda _had_ shown interest. Which was why all of them were now sitting with paper from the general's sketchbook.

But Kanda clearly did not want to draw.

Komui chanced moving, and lay his clipboard on the table. It went unnoticed, however; the door had opened, and a familiar figure was hesitating in the doorway.

He smiled. She didn't. "Lenalee-chan." When she didn't move, he kept the smile fixedly in place. "Please come in. I think Kanda would like to see you."

Only then did he realize his error.

He was right.

Kanda was staring at her intently, neither smiling nor frowning, and Lavi chuckled. "Uh-oh," he murmured, drawing Allen's attention as well, and the younger boy seemed to shake off a daze, smiling brightly.

"Oi, Yuu-chan." Lavi leaned in close over Kanda's shoulder. "Y'know Komui can see you starin' at Lenalee-chan, right?"

It was his cue, perfectly set up, and he took it because it was routine, it was something Kanda might recognize. And the Japanese teen indeed did nothing as he visibly tried to hold himself back from throttling Kanda. He must have forgotten that Lenalee was off limits, and he must have forgotten how beautiful she was, because he remained captivated by her even when she took a reluctant step into the room.

It wasn't Kanda's room; a decision had been made very early on that any therapy or treatment needed to be done somewhere other than his bedroom, so that it would remain a refuge for him. This room was on the same floor, converted from a large formal conference room. There were several desks and tables, each with a different project arranged. In a corner on a mat was a set of wooden blocks, where he had built most of the old Order HQ before Kanda had knocked it down, and there were several kickballs in various states of roundness or in-half-ness. There was even a sparring dummy in a large open area of the room, to which Lavi had artistically added a frown. It too showed signs of wear.

Of all the things they had exposed Kanda to, he had responded best to his Innocence. He could not speak to them, but he consistently recognized Mugen by name, consistently activated, and consistently attacked only the drones and dummies he had been practicing with since he came to the Order.

That being said, he was also consistently careless of anyone who might be close enough to become collateral damage. He didn't intend any of them harm, he just didn't pull the swing if someone else was in the way. Komui adjusted his glasses to cover his pantomimed attempts to kill Kanda, and Lenalee finally looked at him, or at least his mouth.

Allen rescued them both. "We think staring means he's happy to see you," he supplied. "Given that he stared at Lavi when _he_ came in and all I got was a glare."

That cracked a smile across her face, and Lenalee came further into the room. "Good morning, Kanda," she greeted him, a bit more cheerfully. "May I join you?"

Kanda didn't twitch from his study of her, so Lavi tore another piece of paper loose from the pad the general had supplied. "Sure can! Grab a chair."

His sister carefully chose the seat closest to Kanda that was also furthest from him, and the moment Lenalee sat Kanda seemed to lose interest in her, glancing back down at his paper. Lavi bent again to his work, and Kanda surveyed the table with a frown.

"We're working on Kanda's memory today." She might as well know what to expect. "I think it's safe to say he remembers you."

She blushed a little, quickly scribbling a flower in red, and Komui watched her a moment before turning back to his box of props, so that he wouldn't be as guilty as Kanda of staring. What he wanted was another gift of Bak's, and in a moment he had located the long, thin wooden box. He set it on the table between Kanda and Allen, and outside of a reflection glinting off the general's glasses, there was no immediate reaction. Lavi and Allen kept drawing as if nothing had changed.

Kanda, however, glanced at it, then directly at him, almost uncertainly. He gave the teen a quick grin.

"You can open it if you want."

Komui wasn't sure if he understood the words, the tone, or the body language, but communication occurred in some form, and tentatively Kanda reached for the box, eyeing Allen as if he expected the other Exorcist to suddenly snarl at him and snatch it away. Allen did nothing of the kind, now finished with his clown and working on what looked a little like a robed ghost, and Lavi pretended to be especially focused on a stick figure of Leverrier.

His coordination had improved quite a bit in the last few days, even when attempting new things such as manipulating unfamiliar objects, but his motor skills were especially fine as he gently placed the box on his paper and unhooked the latch. The lid was moved back, exposing brush and ink, and in short order the inkpots were set out and the tip of the calligraphy brush went into Kanda's mouth. When he was satisfied with the point he moved the box, leaving his paper white and clean, and loaded the brush with ink.

For a long moment he studied the paper, and then, in a series of nonstop, fluid motions, he began to write. He started at the top of the page, right-hand corner, and worked his way down, making perfectly spaced characters that were foreign to the China-born Komui but recognizable as Japanese kanji.

He had been interested in what Tiedoll was doing because there had been brushes in with the charcoal and the pencils. He hadn't wanted to draw. He had wanted to write.

Lavi studied the characters a moment. "Lineage," he finally supplied quietly. "Not sure how far back."

Possibly one of the first things Kanda had ever learned to write.

He was fully absorbed in his task, stopping each line and prepping the brush once again, studying the surface of the paper again, evaluating the texture. It was a Zen Buddhist tool, helping to connect with the spiritual world, and it was clear that Kanda remembered exactly what to do.

At least, Kanda's arm and wrist and eye did. Whether his mind did was another matter altogether. It was akin to plunging into a bitterly cold bath in the middle of winter, but Komui did it anyway.

"Kanda."

The Japanese teen ignored him utterly, and Komui leaned forward so that his clipboard slammed down onto the table.

That got everyone's attention. The brush skittered as Kanda jumped, eyes wide in surprise and then narrowing in the closest thing to anger he'd seen all day. Lavi had flinched, too, looking almost as surprised as Kanda, and Lenalee was a stormcloud.

"Nii-san-"

"Sorry, sorry," he laughed, rubbing the back of his neck and scrabbling for the clipboard. "It slipped, my mistake. Eh, heh heh . . ."

No one was fooled, not even Kanda, and he glanced back down at his paper fretfully. There was still ink on his brush, and more than half the page still clean, but though he studied the surface, and put the brush back down on the paper, the fluid motions did not resume. He made a large and careless swipe, then his brow furrowed and he tried to cross it in a clumsy plus sign. He paused, the brush shaking slightly in his hand, and his eyes searched the page with growing anxiousness. The brush began to move in the air, redrawing the shapes it had already drawn, because Kanda didn't really remember the characters, he remembered moving his wrist in a certain way, and certain symbols in a certain order.

He didn't know that he was writing his lineage. He was just mimicking the memories that came to mind when he saw brushes. It was something he had written hundreds of times and the act was familiar. And he had wanted to do it, he wanted that familiarity.

In fact, he might have been using it as a technique to help himself figure out what was going on. He didn't realize that those memories, the memories of why, could not be remembered. They were gone.

Komui leaned forward and put a hand on his wrist.

"It's okay, Kanda. You can put the brush down," he advised, more gently, and the teen angrily yanked his arm away, slinging droplets of ink across both his and Allen's pages and arms. This served as a distraction; Kanda kept his brush hand out of Komui's reach, but he stared at his sweater sleeve, where a droplet was slowly soaking into the thirsty wool.

His anger deflated quickly; by the time the droplet had been fully drank by the wool his frustration too had drained. He was more disappointed than anything else, and he set the brush down on its holder, still staring morosely at his sweater.

"That's okay, Yuu-chan," Lavi reassured him with another nudge. "A little cold water and salt'll take that right out. Trust me, I've probably spilled ink on everything I own."

"Ne, Kanda?"

Even Lenalee's cheerful chirp didn't get his attention, so she held up what she had been drawing. It was a pattern, like one might see on a wall tile in Florence, red and too common to easily place. Kanda was still trying to remove the stain from his sweater by force of will, so presumably Allen kicked him under the table. When Kanda glanced up – the irritation was back, Allen was correct that Kanda was less happy with his presence than anyone else's – Allen pointed.

"It's not polite to ignore Lenalee. She'll hit you with a clipboard."

"She only does that to you, Allen."

"She did it to him right after he tried to kill me my first day here."

"Really?" Lavi perked up. "I musta missed that-"

Kanda chuckled softly.

He wasn't just laughing. He was _grinning_, his entire face lit up by his smile, and Lenalee started to giggle. Then she ducked her chin down close to her chest. "You two get back here right now!" she croaked in an impersonation of an old lady. "Sacrilege!"

Kanda laughed again, still grinning, and Lenalee broke into a snicker, shoving the piece of paper at him. He accepted it, then tore it in half, and Lenalee's eyes were bright when she finally caught her breath.

"I'm not surprised you remember _that_," she teased, and though Kanda's odd soiree into laughter faded, the grin did not. He offered her the paper pieces, which she took back, and then looked between Lavi and Allen.

"This is one of those things we shouldn't ask about with your brother here, huh," Lavi guessed, and her expression darkened a little. It was his queue, again, and again, Komui took it, because it was familiar for both of them and they needed it.

Even something like her scorn was better than the nothing she had given him all week.

He let his jaw hit the table, pointing a shaking finger, and Lavi and Allen helpfully held him back as he screamed all the usual phrases, covering purity, taking advantage, never should have sent them on that mission alone, and ending with a tearful question as to how she could have done something like that to him.

At the end of the table, the general was still sketching away, and when Lenalee was finished ignoring him and Lavi and Allen had had enough of half-heartedly holding him back, Komui settled back down, and Allen gave him a rare, serious smile.

"Well, I guess we know that one wasn't muscle memory, huh."

-x-

She hadn't really lived in the old tower long enough to become fond of it. Long enough to get lost, of course, and to appreciate just how much it rained in England, but not long enough to really think of it as her home. It had been a very tall structure, not a very sprawling one, and there had not been room for the types of gardens in which she now sat.

Miranda found she preferred their new home to their old.

In fact, the place was downright tranquil. Old English ivy climbed the walls, surrounded with the nodding stalks of pink and white foxglove and heather. She had heard one of the Finders commenting that some of the rhododendrons were over a hundred years old, and seemed to clear the land around their root balls, leaving wide swathes where only grass grew, and showed the tangled roots just beneath the earth.

It was under one of these trees that a bench had been set, and she was now the sole occupant.

She was not, however, the only occupant of the garden.

Somewhat inexplicably, today Kanda had also chosen the same spot. One could argue he had chosen it first, in fact; he had been there, meditating, when she had first arrived, so quiet and unobtrusive that she hadn't even noticed him. Without his Exorcist's coat, and as slight of frame as he was, he blended perfectly into the roots and trunks and branches of the garden, and the tattoo gave him a sort of camouflage, throwing shadows over his arms and neck that could have been made by the sun.

And somewhat less soothing, the inspectors that still followed him had done nearly as fine a job. It had been they she'd seen first, in fact, one of them observing from a window. The other was standing in the corner of the garden, obviously specifically trying to stay out of the way, and maybe for the same reason she was still sitting exactly where she was, and not moving.

She didn't want to disturb Kanda.

Miranda had stayed away from him, outside of having to have him in line of sight when she put him under Time Recovery. He no longer panicked when he saw her, only watched her warily until he became what he used to be, and then she would not see his eyes at all, he would begin one of his many tasks. Speaking with the inspectors as Allen had had to do when Inspector Link had first been assigned, performing complex physical training, letting Komui's science team poke and prod him.

One of his tasks was to increase his synchronization with Mugen, but it was one of the tasks that he could not accomplish under Time Recovery. Maybe that's why the inspectors were watching him so closely, then, because the Innocence lay across his lap as though his knees were a katana stand. But then again, she wasn't sure how many of his forms he could practice the way he was now, and so perhaps he wanted to train with Mugen even under Time Recovery because of the weight or the way the sword behaved.

Everything that happened to him when he was under Time Recovery would stay with him, the food, the physical rehabilitation. Though he was being held in his best possible state, it didn't restore his weight. It probably restored his grace, strength, and balance, but she hadn't really studied him all that closely before the Noah had taken him, and it wasn't her business.

All she could do was help him pick himself back up again. And she would.

Komui hadn't said anything about deployment since lunch a week ago. He still had a sleepless look about him, driven by a lack of time and too much to accomplish. She wasn't even sure why; Kanda had been found not guilty, any threat of Central punishing him for heresy was gone.

But perhaps it had been more than Lavi, perhaps the things Kanda had revealed to their enemy had prompted a new wave of activity. Perhaps they would have to leave this new home because of it, or other plans she knew nothing of had to be changed and reworked in light of it.

Either way Komui did not seem angry with Kanda. No one in her 'family' did, not anyone who had seen him the way he was now. Miranda dropped her eyes to the ground, watching sunlight dappling across the short grass, and she let her gaze latch onto an ant, clambering over roots and carrying a dried something that was twice its size.

It rather reminded her of hauling the clock up the mountain face.

The light breeze swept through again, as if the garden were taking a deep breath, and she heard faint voices on it.

Miranda cocked her head, listening, and much as they had outside the panel room, the voices slowly got louder. She wasn't sure who it was, though, until someone yelped.

"-w, you grumpy old panda-OW!"

Miranda glanced at Kanda uncertainly, but he appeared as oblivious to the approaching Bookmen as he'd been to her when she'd first noticed him. His eyes were closed and he was so still she would have thought he wasn't even breathing if not for the time on her wrist, steady and light, indicating no more or less damage than before.

The yelping subsided, and Miranda watched the east garden entrance, but oddly, only one Bookman wandered in. Lavi had his hands behind his head, clearly enjoying the day, and though he didn't look around, and she was on his blind side, he tilted a smile in her direction.

Rather than ask permission, he simply wandered over to her bench, plopping onto it with a sigh, and only then did she see the red welt on the side of his head.

"Goodness!" She couldn't help herself. "Lavi, you-"

"Eh, it's nothing." He didn't seem bothered by the painful-looking weal in the slightest. "Deserved it anyway," he added, a little softer, then jerked his chin at the meditating Kanda. "How long's he been there like that?"

Miranda followed his gaze, only a glance. She had the feeling that if she stared at him, Kanda would feel it, and it would disturb him. The inspectors seemed to feel the same way, yet Lavi was watching him unabashedly.

"I don't know," she said truthfully, then hesitated. "What brings you out here?"

It sounded as lame to her ears as it had in her head, but Lavi let it slide. "Too cooped up in there." His eye slid from Kanda to her, and Miranda met his gaze only a moment before averting her own, trying to find the ant again.

Oddly, Lavi chuckled. "You mad at me, Miranda-chan?"

How . . . how could he tell? But she wasn't angry, not really. After all, Lavi had every right to be upset with Kanda for what he'd said, but at the same time, having spent almost as much time with Kanda as she had, how could he possibly blame the other young man for doing what he had done, after everything he'd been through . . .?

And it was not her place to judge, nor to have this conversation in earshot of Kanda. "No, no," she said quickly, shaking her head. "No, I just . . . I just don't want to disturb Kanda."

"He's not listening." She had the feeling there were many layers of meaning in that simple sentence, and she wasn't really sure she heard any of them. "Doncha ever talk to your Innocence?"

Of all the things the Bookman's apprentice could have said, that was certainly something she hadn't expected. Miranda mentally flailed. "Er, I – should I be?"

Lavi chuckled, arms still carelessly behind his head. "Dunno. I guess every Exorcist's different. I don't really talk much to Ozuchi Kozuchi, but then I guess we don't have a lot to say." He paused. "I dunno, I just get the feeling that Mugen's talkative. Allen said he could tell it didn't like him much. And I know, Allen's a special case an' all, but I think he's prolly carried Mugen more than any of us have but Kanda, and being a Critical and all . . . "

Then he tilted his head a little. "I had the same feeling when I carried it for Kanda in the Alps," he admitted. "Second mission I went with him on, he got cut nearly in half by a lucky hit." Lavi chuckled humorlessly. "Scared the crap outta me when he was walkin' around the next morning. Thought he mighta been an Akuma until we got back and the Gatekeeper cleared 'im."

Miranda contemplated that for a moment as another light breeze coasted through, and Kanda didn't budge. If they were disturbing him, he certainly didn't show it.

"So you've known for a long time that . . . he . . . "

Lavi nodded. "Yeah, I've known him since me an' Gramps joined up." He dropped his hands to the bench, supporting him as he leaned back. "S'why I'm not mad at him."

That wasn't what she'd meant, and she knew that Lavi knew that, but she let him change the subject anyway. "Mad at him . . . ?"

"For talkin' to the Noah. That's why you're mad at me, right?"

"I-I'm not-"

He shook his head, once. "You didn't hear what he actually said to the Noah, did you. Just that he admitted to talking."

Having a conversation with someone that could almost read her mind was a little disconcerting, and it was the second time now that they had. Miranda drew herself up a little. _Am I really so simple-minded . . . ?_ "It doesn't matter what I heard. I'm going to do whatever I can to help."

Lavi nodded again, all traces of his smile gone, and they were quiet a long moment. "I guess it doesn't matter what we think, though."

No. Not if what she had seen of Kanda in the past week meant anything. He wasn't sitting there with Mugen in his lap because he was concerned about what they, or Komui, or Central Administration thought about him.

She hesitated. "Lavi-"

Kanda's eyes snapped open.

For a second she wondered if this was part of his meditation, but then he turned his head, as if sensing the inspector behind him, and his eyes then locked on them. And for the first time since he had returned, there was true anger there. Anger and frustration and doubt and everything she would expect to see on his face if a thousand Akuma were sitting there instead of her and Lavi. His meditation had apparently not been peaceful in the slightest.

Kanda growled something in Japanese that was obviously impolite, then stood and without another word began to stalk out of the garden. The inspector in the corner began to follow him.

Lavi, however, seemed suddenly his chipper old self again, and bounced up from the stone bench. "Oi, Yuu-chan, wait up-"

In response, Kanda snarled something else in Japanese, which stopped Lavi dead in his tracks, and as he passed through the foliage-choked stone archway that made up the garden's entrance, he swiped his hand angrily through the greenery, sending foxglove and ivy flying.

She had _never_ seen him strike out like that before. He was always completely in control of himself. Lavi seemed stunned, watching him go, and only when he had passed through the archway, and the first of the two inspectors had gone after, did Lavi blow out his cheeks in a sigh.

"Maybe he _was_ listening," he allowed, in a very strange voice, and then shrugged. "Oh well. Guess we better go apologize, neh?"

Miranda thought that was an absolutely terrible idea. "Maybe we should give him some privacy."

"Ah. What I meant was, guess we better go make sure he doesn't go kill anyone."

That seemed like a slightly better idea, and Miranda reluctantly followed Lavi out of the garden.

As it turned out, Kanda was not inclined to take his bad mood out on some sparring dummies, which she had almost hoped he might. Nor was he interested in sparring anyone else, even if the inspectors would have allowed it. He stormed through the main building, parting staff and Finders alike with his expression alone, obviously aware of his entourage. He said nothing to anyone, and long, angry strides took him up the stairs two at a time. She was just slightly out of breath when they arrived on his floor to find him almost fully disappeared into his room, and the door slammed in the faces of his guards.

They exchanged a silent look and took up their normal posts.

All of this would have been at least a little typical if it was around ten pm. It was only four.

Miranda was more than happy to leave well enough alone, but Lavi walked right up to the door and put his hand on the handle.

"Oi! Yuu! Whacha want for dinner?"

This time the Japanese teen didn't even bother to yell at him, and Lavi calmly let himself in.

Miranda just stared at the door, a little wide-eyed, and waited for the yelp she knew was going to come. But second after second went by, and when there was no sound, she figured Kanda had decided that hitting Lavi would take too long, and was strangling him instead. General Tiedoll was normally around at this time in the afternoon, spending time with his apprentice, but clearly had more sense than they did, and wanted to leave him alone for a while –

Miranda bit her lip and wondered if she should go summon him. Or shouldn't. After all, they all saw him so out of control, and to have him break down when he was at least in his right mind . . . maybe he wouldn't want the general to see him right now.

He certainly didn't want them around, after all.

Or maybe just her.

The thought hit Miranda like a brick wall. Kanda wasn't kicking Lavi out of his room. Maybe he was angry not because they were both there, but just because she was.

That was all it took. She had turned on her heels and was heading to her own quarters when the door was yanked open again, startling her, and Lavi tripped his way out. Kanda was right behind him, having apparently ejected him by the scruff of his neck.

He didn't say anything at all to the stumbling redhead, instead seeking out and glaring at her. "Drop Time Recovery," he snapped. "I'm going to bed." The second appeared to be directed either at Lavi or his guards. Then he turned back into his room, and the door slammed shut once again.

Miranda hesitated, watching Lavi shrug his shirt back into place. He didn't seem particularly perturbed by his ejection; in fact, he almost seemed to find the whole thing funny. Which would probably piss Kanda off even _more_. Either way, it probably meant she needed to get the general. It was too early for Kanda to be released from Time Recovery without supervision, and much too early to persuade him to sleep once he had been.

Lavi had clearly come to the same conclusion. "It's okay, Miranda-chan." His smile was bright. "I'll stay with him."

The inspectors at the door were not looking at each other, but not protesting, and Miranda hesitated. "Shouldn't we get the general, or Matron?" But once she'd said it she actually heard it.

Lavi's smile didn't falter. "I think he's angry enough for one day," he concluded. "I'll make sure he takes the pills. They'll both probably be here in an hour anyway."

That was probably true. Particularly if they realized he hadn't eaten dinner. "Are you . . . sure . . .?" _that you want to go back in there?_

Lavi nodded. "It'll be fine."

She glanced at her Innocence, still unsure, but Lavi passed between the two inspectors and tried the handle once again. Kanda couldn't lock them out, after all.

Something else that had to irritate him, but of course he knew he couldn't be allowed to be in his room all alone, not like he was now-

"_GET OUT_!" It was shouted so forcefully Kanda's voice cracked, and there was a dull, low _*thwack*_ of flesh hitting flesh, and Miranda flinched, staring at his time on her wrist.

And she let it go, because Kanda would be upset but not know why, and maybe Lavi could cheer him up, just a little. The time passed through the wall and was gone, and nothing else happened. No other screams, no sound of objects or Lavi flying. The inspectors had both responded, glancing inside, but they did not enter, and after a moment's evaluation returned to their posts. Someone inside the room closed the door.

Miranda fled.

-x-

His guesstimate of an hour was way off.

"Under normal circumstances I'd be happy to let second shift take over," Lavi called softly, "but it seems he's kinda attached."

The tall general took his cue from the volume of Lavi's voice and the reaction of the one he was staring at so piercingly, and he closed the door silently behind him. He was wearing his formal jacket, which Lavi found interesting since he had no record of any meetings Tiedoll should have had that day, and he slipped it off with the hiss of wool on cotton.

Kanda twitched, liking the drawn out sound even less than Lavi's voice, and he gave the general an apologetic grimace as the man noticed and slowed his movements further.

Tiedoll, for his part, gingerly crossed the sparsely furnished room and draped his coat over the back of the desk chair. The sunset pouring through the window there caught the lenses of his glasses, reflecting deep yellows and reds. "The inspectors indicated you had a fight."

Lavi left the grimace on his face. Half of it, anyway; the right side was too swollen to let him smile or frown.

"He was always going on about my guard being terrible. Guess he was right." He glanced down at Kanda ruefully. "I'll take off as soon as he's asleep."

"May I inquire as to the nature of your altercation?" Oddly, Kanda remained still, despite the proximity of the new voice, and it made Lavi's grimace quirk up a little. He clearly had his favorites.

"He wanted me out."

The general hmmed softly. "Yes, I can see that."

Though he didn't look at the general, Lavi could feel his gaze, taking in the bed's disheveled sheets, which had been pulled up to Kanda's armpits. They couldn't go any further; both his long arms were wrapped tightly around Lavi's upper left thigh, and his face was pressed to it. He was awake, eyes wide and dark and white-ringed, but they were unfocused and strangely empty. Little shivers wracked his frame regularly, and his legs moved sluggishly and restlessly beneath the light cotton blanket.

At their silence, his eyes tracked to the left suspiciously, and he burrowed his face a little further into Lavi's leggings.

"When did he take it?"

Lavi did glance, then, at the nightstand beside the bed. The glass there was empty of water, and there was an open paper pill packet beside it, but the packet still contained an obvious bulge. "I think he meant to, but I kinda interrupted, and he didn't have enough time before Miranda dropped Time Recovery."

For a while, the only sound was Kanda breathing, short and sharp against Lavi's thigh.

"What happened?" Still measured and polite. He would not say what he thought, and would not throw him out, not with Kanda so obviously frightened by something.

"I'm sorry." And he meant it. "We left him alone less than a minute."

And he waited.

Because the general had noticed it was gone. He had put his coat on the chair and he would have looked, since there were so few items on the desk itself. Forms from Central, a pen and inkwell, a lamp and some candles. None of them had the vibrant color that the sunset was trying so hard to make up for, that had succeeded in distracting him when he'd seen it himself.

Distracted his mind, but not his memory. And that fist hadn't helped, either.

"It's digitalis. I saw him take a whack at the foxglove in the east garden, top of the stalk. Didn't realize he'd grabbed any leaves, though." Angle had been wrong. He got the feeling Kanda had known that, and hidden it from the inspectors, too. "Too many," he added, just in case it wasn't clear why he hadn't bothered to do anything about it. "Saw him chewing on something and making a face but I figured it was the sleeping pill."

The general was oddly silent, standing there beside them, and when he spoke, his voice was positively gentle. "I take it the lotus is not with Komui."

Lavi shook his head, once, so the gesture wouldn't shake the bed. "No." The lotus was shredded, and the glass and wood was probably mangled beneath Kanda's window. That part was rather sloppy, but then again, the empty hourglass would have been more obvious than the lack of it altogether.

"I saw the wind take the last petal. Right before he tried to erase the memory." He gave the Japanese teen a dirty look. "Went for my bad side, too. He meant it."

Kanda squeezed his eyes shut suddenly, flinching violently, and he let out a low, muffled cry, curling his sweating limbs tighter against his body. Lavi tried not to think of the symptoms of digitalis poisoning. Hallucination, delirium, nausea, abdominal pain, severe headache, loss of equilibrium, unconsciousness, arrhythmia, pulmonary failure. Of all the poisons he could have chosen, this was not one of the kinder ones.

"Did he say anything?" The general's voice had dropped to almost a whisper.

Lavi recalled stumbling, too shocked by the blow to register what Kanda had been doing at the window, and he'd looked up in time to see the backhand coming, but Kanda hadn't followed through. He had looked –

Frantic. _"Don't let t-"_

That desperate quality hadn't left, even when Miranda's time had eased into his chest, and his eyes had become confused.

"He didn't get a chance," Lavi murmured. "I'd already asked Miranda to let him go."

"Ah," was all Tiedoll said, and Lavi watched the tightness around Kanda's eyes fade as the bout passed. They opened again, dark and dilated and frightened, and Lavi kept his hands folded in his lap. Kanda responded to touch even more poorly than sound, but the worst of the hallucinations should have already passed.

"I'm sorry," Lavi repeated.

Tiedoll moved, silently for such a great bulk, and stood just beside the bed. Something light landed on Lavi's knee, and only then did he realize that the general was weeping openly, making no sound. He reached out for his pupil, then hesitated, and a second and third tear fell onto the blanket covering Kanda.

He didn't seem to notice.

Lavi remained still, which was a feat, because he was trapped at the edge of the bed with his back against the headboard, and only half his ass was actually on the mattress. The other half was hanging off and being supported by his right leg, which was still on the ground and starting to become fatigued. Kanda opened his mouth a little, shivering, and Lavi gave the general an apologetic half-smile when his hovering hand withdrew, not daring to touch the struggling samurai.

"I'll go when he's asleep."

"No." It was more of a choke than a word. Tiedoll even returned the smile, if tremulously. "He seems very fond of you."

Probably fonder of an Exorcist than whatever it was he was watching now. Lavi was afraid he knew, and the invisible thing that had been roaming the room had grey skin and yellow eyes. He had nothing to say to that, though, and the general transferred that smile to his apprentice before he turned wearily and picked up his coat.

Kanda shifted against Lavi's leg, and his next breath too unvocalized to be a whine. Froi Tiedoll stilled for a moment, then headed for the door.

Lavi stared after him. He was leaving? "General-"

"You don't lie any better than he does, Bookman Junior." Tiedoll was losing control of his voice. "He didn't want me here." The barest of pauses. "You will stay with him?"

"I think maybe if you asked him he'd change his mind."

In a way it was manipulating someone who was too exhausted to fight back, exactly as he had bullied Kanda into the bed when it was clear the confused and frightened teen could no longer keep his balance. And it wasn't necessary for the record; the general was right that Lavi would not have left, because someone needed to record the when and why and how.

Maybe the curse wasn't tied to the lotus the way he thought, after all. Maybe Kanda still had a little life left in him.

"There's room," Lavi tried again, and Tiedoll's head turned, so that he could see the corner of the man's eye.

Kanda's mouth and eyes tightened again, and he squeezed Lavi's leg in sudden alarm, breath becoming short and sharp. It seemed Lavi had barely even looked down before Tiedoll's jacket was being cast carelessly at the foot of the bed, and his voice was thick but soothing.

"Oh, oh, oh," he murmured, easing his large frame onto the mattress so very slowly, trying hard to distribute his weight evenly until he was settled on the bed at Kanda's waist, looking down at him. Tears were flowing freely down his face but he did not sob, nor did he make any move to take Kanda away. His presence didn't do anything for Kanda's distress; even as gentle as Tiedoll had been, the mattress had still shifted, and Kanda clung harder to his anchor, panting, with his eyes screwed shut.

Tiedoll hesitated again, then reached out and traced a line down Kanda's temple, as if brushing long hair that no longer existed out of his face. Kanda's eyes flickered open, shooting to his left in alarm, and Tiedoll unhurriedly repeated the gesture.

"Oh, Kanda." The general could not keep the tears out of his voice. "What have you done?"

Abruptly Kanda jerked his left arm away from Lavi, slapping it uncoordinatedly on his face and trapping his general's. For a moment Lavi misunderstood, but then Kanda dragged both to his mouth and held them there, his right arm still wrapped firmly around Lavi's thigh.

Not his mouth, Lavi realized. His nose. He couldn't trust his sight and God only knew what he was hearing, but he could smell them. He recognized them enough to know that they were not scary, or dangerous, and he wanted them close.

The bed shook slightly, and this time Lavi was not certain who was trembling. Tiedoll was clearly fighting to keep himself still and silent, and he let Kanda hide his face in his rough, calloused hand. His free hand continued tracing a gentle path, all too familiar, from the side of his forehead across his temple and ear, and Kanda visibly calmed under his ministrations.

This only seemed to upset the general more. His fingers began to shake. "Why didn't you come to me?" he chided unsteadily. "Why didn't you ask for help?"

Kanda did not answer him, burrowing further into both his general's hand and Lavi's thigh, so that Lavi wasn't even sure he could still breathe. His eyes were still open but no longer as active, and he let out a trembling sigh and tightened his grip momentarily before his fingers weren't digging quite so deeply into Lavi's leg.

The general's eyes were bright, fixed on his apprentice, and he stroked Kanda's cheek. "I didn't mean to push him away. I thought he'd want space . . ." The general was silent a long moment, holding his breath. He was trying to hide his distress from Kanda. When he spoke again, he couldn't control the volume, and Kanda flinched slightly against them. "I should have defended him."

Clearly those words were not meant for Kanda, yet Lavi was loathe to speak, to chance breaking this fragile trust. "I doubt that's the reason. He was meditating, earlier . . . he came out angry." Kanda's eyes flickered but didn't fully close, and the whites were barely visible. "Whatever he was fighting, I don't think any of us could have helped."

There were so many reasons, and so many of them smacked of Kanda. He thought he was useless as an Exorcist, he'd never recover quickly enough to be of use on the field before the final battle with the Earl, and strapping Miranda to him was just handicapping them both. Any Noah would be bright enough to target her, and in the end, even if the curse kept him alive, he'd lose Mugen.

And if the Earl won, he would never be able to find 'that person' he sought. With both of his driving goals out of reach, he was just a drain on Order resources. Maybe this was to protect Komui, prevent him from having to disobey yet another order from Central. After all, if Toothbrush Mustache hadn't demanded that Komui find some way to fix this by forcing Mugen to a crystal form he'd eat his eyepatch. And protecting Komui's position would make sense; if Lenalee was the Heart, she'd need her brother around.

Or maybe it was to give them Mugen, if he couldn't use it, though chances were slight, perhaps they could find another accommodator in time, one more effective than he was in this state.

Maybe it had to do with whatever he wouldn't tell them about his time with the mystery Noah. Maybe he had shared all the pertinent information with them, and being alive put them at greater risk than he'd indicated.

Or maybe all that was just the rationalization of a Bookman junior who couldn't grasp the concept that perhaps Kanda had been broken deeper than he seemed. Perhaps Kanda truly believed that they were going to lose, and any death was better than being found like this by the ones that had done it to him.

Kanda's eyes flickered again, slipping to the right and closing, and it took visible effort for him to pry them open once more. They were even less focused than before, and Tiedoll cooed at him, just a little unevenly, smoothing the hair he still had. Kanda shifted his head a little.

"I would have taken any burden for you." The general's lips pulled back in something that tried so hard to be a smile when Kanda's eyes shifted back towards them. "I love you."

It wasn't long before Kanda's eyes slid closed again, and his general stroked his cheek. His eyelids flickered but this time the gentle touch was not enough to open them. His eyes shifted beneath the skin, searching for something, but the hand holding onto Lavi's thigh gradually began to weaken.

Tiedoll failed to fully stifle a sob.

Kanda shivered.

The general's face crumpled, and he abruptly drew his pupil into his arms, tucking Kanda's head beneath his chin. The motion pulled Kanda's arm free but Lavi didn't mind; he got up off the bed as the general rocked Kanda gently against his chest, holding him tightly against him.

Trying to keep him warm.

"My dear son," he sobbed softly, over and over again. "My sweet, sweet boy."

For the first time in a long time, Lavi felt like an intruder. Somehow he was less obtrusive leaning against the corner of the desk, and he crossed his arms, head bowed low. Kanda's breath had left a wet a spot on his leg that now seemed sheathed in ice.

Tiedoll clung fiercely to his pupil, as if he could hold him to this world by sheer force of will. Kanda never stirred, not even when Tiedoll pressed kiss after kiss to his temple. Now that the floodgates were open, the general cared less and less for the noise he was making, and Lavi eyed the door uncertainly. Tiedoll sobbing after Kanda had gone to sleep was routine at this point, but if he was not careful they would be able to tell the difference.

This was physical pain. The general was in agony, aging as Lavi watched, pressing his mouth to Kanda's scalp, matting the short black hair with his pain and grief. He was holding him desperately, clutching as much of Kanda's body against him as he could, trying to force heat back into the too-slight frame.

Lavi bit his lip. "General." His voice came out a croak, so he tried again. "General, the guards . . ."

Tiedoll rocked Kanda back and forth, gently, and buried his face against Kanda's neck. It did little to muffle his cries, and Lavi was about to try again when the general stopped moving. He hugged Kanda tightly, kissing his forehead, and then he released him, and Lavi saw that sometime in those intervening moments Kanda had died, and the exact when and how was lost though he had seen everything.

Trust Kanda to be like that.

The general was shaking badly, but when his hands closed reverently on the sheets Lavi straightened and joined him. Together they pulled them up, but only to Kanda's shoulders. Tiedoll seemed loathe to fully let him go, cupping his face, stroking his hair and wiping away some of the tears. Lavi smoothed the bottom sheet where his butt had been, removing all evidence that he had sat there at all. He finally managed to get Tiedoll's attention when he offered the man his forgotten jacket, and the general swallowed hard and accepted it with a nod. For a moment Lavi was afraid he could not stand, but then the general moved off the mattress more lightly than he'd expected, and Lavi smoothed those sheets as well.

Tiedoll circled the bed, staring down at his pupil one more time before he bowed low, at the waist, and remained there for several long seconds. When he came back up he was carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders, and Lavi came up beside him.

"Are you ready?"

The record would show that they left the room about a half-hour after Tiedoll arrived, the amount of time it usually took for the overprotective, oversensitive general to give up spying on his apprentice for the night. Tiedoll was leaning heavily on another Exorcist, the apprentice Bookman, who gave the guards a quirked smile and half a shrug as he helped the stumbling, sobbing general out the door. None of it was any different than the nights before, not even the inspectors checking, right after the general had turned the corner, just to be sure that their charge was still in the room and peacefully sleeping.

The golems recorded Lavi escorting the general to his quarters, but they did not follow him back out into the twilight, because he was a Bookman, not under any close scrutiny. The only record of what happened after Lavi left the lobby was the record of the Bookman, and the golems caught him returning perhaps ten minutes later, sucking on a bloody finger.

-x-

**Author's Notes**: In case you didn't catch it, this was the sad ending. Maybe it'll give everyone a little hope for Kanda in the CIM versions. As I guesstimated before, there is only one chapter left of each. Those of you who were looking for a revisit of the Noah, you're in luck. As for the CIP chappie, there's one little twist left to reveal.

Melric, looks like now is a good time to be thinking of your pressie and what you'd like to see.

As for me, I'm going to bed. And I'm taking my plushie Timcanpy with me.


	21. Chapter 15 CIM: Begin Again : Edited

**REPOST**

**EDIT:** Those of you that know me know that I have a hangup about overwriting. I won't refresh your memory. And because of both my determination to only go on for one more chapter, and also to make it symmetrical with the CIP chapters (and I really, honestly don't expect to stretch Kanda's discovered suicide and funeral across two chapters), I decided that it HAD to be one chapter. Had to. I had to wrap up the CIM version in this one giant chapter.

I did it at the cost of some of my favorite scenes, and at the cost of my readers. I ignored the Komui/Lenalee conflict, I ignored Allen's eventual fate altogether. I didn't feel like explaining Kanda's reintroduction to the Order, and I had to leave out some very awesome mental images I've been clinging to since I decided to branch these chapters.

I expect this announcement will make kayter a _very_ happy panda.

There will be another CIM chapter. Possibly two. The above unresolved conflicts will be resolved, and I am going to _wallow_ in my mental images because frankly, Tiedoll, Komui, Lavi, Allen, and Lenalee have earned it. Their supporting roles outgrew a simple story about Kanda and they've been nagging me all day. They deserve it.

So this is a repost. It is literally what you've already read with two words changed. (They're not important. A sullen became a surly and I've already forgotten what the other one was.) It is simply an announcement of that repost, and a notification that there will be CIM chapters to come.

There is also a new VOTE in the Author's Notes. You can decide on one scene I've been cuddling, and whether or not you want to see it.

Sorry about that, guys. Carry on!

-x-

Disclaimer in previous chapters. Please see Author's Notes at the end.

**NOTE**: This is a **CIM** (Curse is Magical) chapter. **CIM** supposes a curse can restore beyond what is capable by the human body. Please note that **CIM** and **CIP** chapters **will share some content****.** They will simply move in different directions.

-x-

He was so damn _fast_.

The blade was in and out so quickly Tasha didn't even have time to shake loose his runes. Finn hadn't seen the beginning of the strike at all, he had been watching the door, watching Kanda's face and not his hands and the Innocence was well on its way to his chest now.

And Tasha was on his way to the floor.

Neither a block nor a dodge would get Finn clear of Mugen, he saw it immediately. Nothing he had ready could handle a direct blow from that Innocence and so he chose to dodge, folding his knees and dropping himself backwards, feet firmly on the floor.

The Innocence cut a narrow strip of flesh from his chest, half an inch deep, so that he felt the blade snag on his sternum before passing through it. The shock of it was enough to throw his balance and Finn let himself fall, using his now-freed feet, aiming for the sword arm that was passing over him and into range. He connected, tossing the lesser weight back and hopefully the sword free of its wielder, but his landing was less than ideal and when he rolled in an effort to get to his feet, his sternum _shifted_ and he hesitated.

Kanda Yuu did not. Finn watched his body and perspective shift from a blow he did not feel at all, and the spell that was half-formed fizzled when a booted foot crushed down onto his hand, scattering the runes. It did not linger; it seemed he was in the Exorcist's way, because Kanda stalked off immediately, not even bothering to finish them off.

Then Finn blinked, and took a new breath, and realized his body was not climbing to its feet. His mouth was not chanting. His eyes were locked straight ahead, watching the pool of blood in front of him thicken before volume overcame surface tension and it gleefully ran into the seam between tiles. Tasha was still conscious, struggling for air, and Finn had to reassess.

Perhaps they were finished after all.

He heard a odd screeching wail, followed by explosions, but he was unable to move his head at all, unable to follow the progress of his charge as Kanda Yuu headed down the hallway. Toward the lobby.

-x-

With a sickening _snap_ his neck slipped to the right, and he closed his eyes when he realized what he'd done.

He was too damned tense, too damned tired, and now his neck was cramping too damned much. The muscles were locking and tightening as Reever stumbled, trying to keep his chin on the folders and tilt it to the left at the same time to alleviate the spasm. If he didn't get his neck unstuck and fast it was going to take two damned days to wear this one off and he wasn't in the damned mood-

Something round, soft, and ridiculously dense bowled into him, and the carefully and meticulously gathered documents went flying cheerfully into the air, refusing utterly to function as a pillow. They broke his fall but the paper edges sliced his neck, and Reever Wenham had had enough.

"_Damn_ it!" He pushed himself up, hardly noticing that his neck was nice and straight again since it felt like he'd just let a palsied geriatric shave it with a straight razor, and glared death at the one that had bumped him. 65's mouth was still closed but his eyes were huge, and shockingly, he grabbed Reever by the back of the lab coat and began to bodily drag him back down the hall. The set of his round body was apologetic but firm.

"Whoa! What-" Reever scrambled to keep up, trying to get his feet under him, but there was apparently no time, and 65 by design rarely touched humans. Whatever it was, it was serious. Luckily they didn't have far to go; 65 and Johnny had been in the communications room, and Johnny was still there, shrieking into a microphone.

"-ve lost batches eighty-two through one hundred and five!"

Batches? Batches of golems?

65 dumped him on his feet and gestured wildly at the monitors, just in time for him to catch sight of a cap of short black hair attached to an Exorcist's jacket descend the northwest staircase. Dark, almond-shaped eyes shifted, and it was as if Kanda Yuu could actually see them through the golems. His arm arced out in a decisive swipe, and there was a flash of Hell's Insects before the monitors flickered to static, then defaulted to the signals of the next closest golems.

They now showed the normal bustle of seven-thirty activity in the main lobby of the new Order headquarters. Finders, guards, staff, all moving about their morning business and completely oblivious.

Reever was stunned. A full week of perfect behavior, and now this . . . it was possible that Kanda was just having a really rotten morning, taking it out on the golems –

"Batches one hundred and thirty through one hundred and forty-one destroyed," Johnny moaned into the microphone behind him, and Reever mopped at his neck with a sleeve, bending over the controls. Either Johnny or 65 had already issued the order to bring in some of the outer golems, there had been quite a few in Kanda's wing and he had apparently only destroyed the interior ones. Reever tuned the monitors to batches twenty through thirty, scanning what they could see.

Most were on their way inside, trying to find open doors and windows, but two had managed to penetrate their new headquarters to the main hallway. The two inspectors assigned to Kanda were there on the hallway floor, and the resolution Bak had worked so hard to sharpen made it clear that no, Kanda was not taking out his bad mood on golems.

It also appeared he was not taking prisoners.

Reever swallowed and picked up a second microphone. Komui's golem was offline. Matron's was not. And of course Kanda would pick the day after Leverrier returned with the Vatican's decision on Allen Walker to freak out -

He was halfway through passing along the most vital information to the infirmary when he glanced back up at the monitors, and his mouth went suddenly dry.

-x-

"And do you really think being early to a meeting to hear results that have already been decided will have any effect on the outcome?" Allen tried very hard to make it sound anything but what he felt – exasperated.

In response, the inspector beside him made that short, sharp grunt in his nose again, as if clearing a permanent congestion. "You should take this more seriously, Mr. Walker. The rest of your life may be dependent on what the Vatican ruled."

Allen gave the Russian a sideways glance. "Something tells me that if it was to find me guilty of heresy I'd be dead by now instead of being ten minutes early to a meeting with Leverrier."

As always, the inspector paused ever so briefly in the center of the lobby, before the large, dark crucifix that was hung there. It was empty of a Jesus figure, which brightened Allen's spirits just a little bit. There had been nothing so audacious in the old headquarters and lately the decorations had felt somewhat oppressive to him. Of course they knew they were God's army – he was God's Favorite, wasn't he? And as far as being tested was concerned, he had a feeling he and Jesus might have had something to talk about if they were ever in the same room during tea.

Allen wondered briefly what his shadow would think of that train of thought, and was extremely glad there was nothing reflective around. He did glance, though, a bit curiously, and found Lenalee crossing the lobby towards him, bright smile firmly in place.

"How is it, Allen-kun?" she asked when they were close enough for conversation. Nikolai apparently took it as his cue for reflection on God and country to come to an end, and started forward, and Allen very deliberately refused to follow.

Every little bit of defiance made him feel that much better. And okay, maybe it was childish, and Link would have just rolled his eyes, but Allen saw no need to be in the appointed room ten minutes prior to the meeting's start. Leverrier would just have that much more time to gloat and threaten before he gave them all the Vatican's decision on his 'insubordination,' and unless he was very, very off the mark, the Vatican hadn't really changed their position. Disobeying or not, he had done so to save an Exorcist.

Try to save an Exorcist.

Allen forced the dark thoughts away, focusing on Nikolai's irritation, which made him smile perhaps a bit too broadly, and Lenalee gave him a curious head tilt when he coughed. "Eh, another meeting," he admitted. "But this time at least I got to eat breakfast first."

Her smile became more genuine. "Yes, I know. Jerry said-"

Both inspector and Exorcists jumped at an explosive crash from the northeast hallway. Someone screamed, and then three Finders staggered into view, bringing with them a cloud of dust and smoke. Two of them were helping the third, who did not appear able to walk on his own.

Allen didn't even think about it. He started off for the sound immediately, Lenalee right beside him, and only moments after the Finders cleared the hallway, another figure stepped out of the haze.

Kanda did not hesitate nor seem particularly concerned about whatever had just happened, and Allen was on the verge of guessing it had something to do with a Komurin when he saw that Kanda was not sheathing Mugen. The sword was out and –

Was that blood?

He and Lenalee had both slowed at the sight of Kanda, and his eyes swiveled to meet theirs. He was both unrecognizable and hauntingly familiar; his eyes were pitiless, unamused, coldly calculating. He looked like he might have three months ago, sizing up a level three. There was not a shred of the quiet, subdued Kanda they had only started to become accustomed to.

". . . K-Kanda-"

Guards shot out of the northwest hall, and Kanda didn't even look at them. Nor did he say a word; he held Mugen out to the side, blade perfectly parallel with the floor, and with a long, decisive cut, he sliced the fabric of reality for just a moment, and his Insects poured forth.

He did not issue them a command, but it seemed he did not have to; they headed straight for the guards.

Allen didn't think about the Ark. He didn't think about the time that Kanda had sent Hell's Insects after them. He didn't wonder if perhaps all the Insects would do was worry the guards. He saw the look on Kanda's face and he moved, because even if that was all the Insects would do, their master meant murder. Crown Clown responded instantly to him, unfurling at his shoulders, and in a moment Clown Belt had extended, both pulling and launching him directly in their path.

He heard Lenalee shout, and the cloak extended just barely in time, fluttering directly in front of the Insects. Kanda's Innocence crashed into his with substantially more force than Allen recalled when he caught the Insect sent after Tomas in Mateel. The impact threw him backwards, between Kanda's intended targets, and only when Allen was certain he had caught all of them did he look back.

It was just like the moment Kanda had been kidnapped, two months ago. Mugen's tip was half an inch from his right eye and closing.

But this time Kanda was still holding onto it.

Abruptly the Japanese Exorcist changed the direction of his attack, the sword so close that Allen felt his eyelashes sliced through as the eye reflexively closed, and rather than running Mugen through his skull the samurai shoulder-checked him. He went flying into the wall and Crown Clown huddled around him protectively, but between the sharp shoulder and the impact he could not catch his breath.

His eyes were miraculously still intact, however, if watering, and for a moment he did not believe what he was seeing.

Kanda had had to alter his plan because he had been attacked. Mugen was screeching along a thin, serrated blade that was extended from the right forearm of Howard Link. Both teens were trembling with effort, teeth bared, and Link's eyes narrowed.

"Allen Walker is still my responsibility, and I will not allow you to kill him until my investigation is complete."

Kanda's lips curled. "So it's you, then? You'll need to try harder than this!"

The weapon was not sufficient to fully block Innocence and it seemed Link knew it. His blade broke with a sharp _crack!_ and Link twisted his wrist, catching Mugen's edge with the metal housing of the broken knife that was still reinforcing his forearm. Link flung his right arm across his chest, using the speed and force that Kanda had attacked with to his advantage. The deflection was successful; Mugen passed harmlessly by Link's left ear and his opponent was now within arm's distance. Link followed up with a knee to Kanda's unprotected solar plexus.

Though Kanda was not able to correct the deflection, his left hand was not idle. At the same time Link's knee connected, Kanda reached out with two stiff fingers for Link's throat, and they found their mark.

Both fighters stumbled back, Kanda bent in half and Link clutching his throat. And both fighters rushed forward again before they'd even really gotten their feet back under them. Kanda's reach was significantly hampered by his inability to lunge, he was still bent partially in half, and Mugen was able to catch the inspector's coat at his left hip, but little more as the lithe Crow spun, again using his knee to strike the inside of Kanda's sword wrist.

Mugen went flying, but Link paid the price. He was still unsteady on his feet, and Kanda didn't even try to recover Mugen. He grabbed Link's right shoulder, using his momentum to replace his lost weight, and crashed into him. He managed to bring the Crow down to his knees, his right arm twisted behind him, wrist held high on his back. From Allen's angle, he couldn't tell if it was broken or not. Link's left hand was wrapped around Kanda's other wrist, which had firm hold of Link's chin.

To break his neck. Allen's eyes widened, and though he could not get his breath, he tried. "No!"

Kanda paused. Both of them were gasping for breath, and Allen was afraid to use Clown Belt; he was too far away and Kanda would have time to react. Lenalee was significantly closer, several feet off the ground, and Allen was sure that even if he couldn't get Clown Belt there in time, she could boot Kanda into next week before he could do more than start to turn Link's head.

She sounded both frightened and furious. "Kanda, _stop_!"

He was not looking at her, Allen couldn't tell if he was watching Link or the floor, and the sudden inpouring of additional people into the lobby drowned out any words. Link twisted in Kanda's grip and the Japanese Exorcist tightened his hold, and then Link voluntarily turned his head toward Kanda, and Allen saw his jaw moving.

"That's enough!" The voice was unmistakably Leverrier's, and Allen used his Innocence to push himself to his feet. "Take him into custody at once!"

Though Lenalee had gotten no reaction from him, Leverrier did. Kanda calmly looked directly at the man, and even from the back it was apparent the motion lacked the previous deference. The inspector's honor guard had deployed to loosely surround both Link and Kanda, with their lances and crossbows ready, and Allen was not surprised to see a breathless Komui appear just behind them.

Kanda visibly evaluated his options, then his gaze returned to the inspector he was holding more or less hostage. Link was still gasping around a swelling throat, but Allen still could not hear if they were speaking. Kanda did not tighten his hold any further.

"Let him go, Yuu." The order came from above, and Kanda's head did not even twitch in the direction of his general's voice. Allen saw that Marie was beside him, and rather disappointingly, Tiedoll's hands were not on the banister but inside the breast of his coat.

There was a tense silence, finally, enough that Allen could clearly hear both Kanda and Link still panting, and then Link swallowed, visibly painfully. "Don't – shoot," he croaked.

Kanda continued staring at Link, and then, shockingly, he let him go. He released the inspector's arm and face and took a step back, still unable to fully straighten. The guard surged forward instantly, but Kanda looked utterly unimpressed with the forest of viciously tipped lances. There was no way he could reclaim his Innocence, but it didn't seem to worry him.

When he spoke, his voice was not as scornful as his expression. "That was pathetic."

Link was favoring the arm that had been twisted behind him, but he stood also, gaze shifting between Kanda and Leverrier. "And you," he growled hoarsely, rubbing his throat. "Your synchronization . . . how did you recover it?"

And then it occurred to Allen that he'd seen Kanda use Hell's Insects without verbally invoking them. Something he hadn't been able to do until Edo. Something he couldn't have done if he was only synchronized forty-seven percent.

There was a brief flash of surprise from Kanda, then a guarded look, and he tilted his head up to where his general was standing. Leverrier didn't give him a chance to speak.

"Take him away and bind him. If he resists, use lethal force."

Something passed between general and pupil, too fast for Allen to catch, and the guards shoved their lances against Kanda's throat roughly. He responded by walking in the direction they indicated, letting his gaze drop to his Innocence, and Lenalee touched down just beside it, giving him a troubled look.

"Kanda-"

"Stand aside, Lenalee Lee." Leverrier's tone was more polite, but only slightly. "General Tiedoll, ensure that she remains safe. Acting Supervisor Lee, see that the Innocence is returned to Hevlaska."

Allen stared at the inspector in shock, but he turned on his heels without another word and began marching after Kanda. Tiedoll moved away from the railing immediately, heading for the stairs, and Lenalee watched them silently. Her hands were twisting in her skirt. Allen reached her side just before Komui, and her brother pulled her into a tight hug.

"Thank God," he breathed into her hair, but Lenalee only permitted the hug for a moment.

"Nii-san," and she pushed him back, "what's going on-"

"I don't know." His eyes were as serious as Allen had ever seen them, and they fixed on him intently. "Are you all right, Allen-kun?"

Allen nodded silently, and behind him, someone cleared their nose.

"Mr. Walker, we shall return to your quarters until we receive further instructions."

Allen ignored Nikolai until Tiedoll and Noise Marie made it to them, and the general inclined his head.

"I do hope you won't mind the company of an old fool, Miss Lenalee?"

She shook her head, looking between the general and her brother. It was the closest Allen had seen them stand since Kanda had been recovered. "But why . . ? Kanda-"

"We do not know Kanda's intentions." The general's voice was soothing, even if the words were anything but. "It would be unfortunate if his target was the young lady the Earl suspected was the Heart."

"But . . . why? Why now? I ate lunch next to him just yesterday, he was fine-"

"Something's changed." Komui had calmed, but only a little. He bent and took up Mugen, carefully, like someone who was completely unfamiliar with swords. "Inspector Link was right, his synchronization has definitely tightened, but that doesn't make sense . . . he's attacking Order personnel."

"Who else has he attacked but Link and Allen?" Then Marie grimaced. "Not that you're not personnel, Allen-"

"But he doesn't like me, I know." Allen put on a smile he didn't feel. "He used Hell's Insects to clear out a hallway of Finders, but there was blood . . . " Then he craned his neck, looking past their small circle. The lobby was crowded with staff, Finders and medical personnel, so he could be sure they were being treated. Link was conspicuously absent, and had probably followed Leverrier to wherever they took Kanda.

"He attacked his guard," Komui murmured, drawing Allen's attention back. "Matron is treating them."

Tiedoll pressed his lips together. "Will they recover?"

Komui was still a moment. "I don't know," he finally admitted. "He didn't hold back, and most of the golems were destroyed, so until we can recover footage we have no record of what happened there last night." He was staring at Mugen as if the answers were buried in the Innocence, and Allen took the time to wonder if the saya, still attached to Kanda, was also Innocence. The thin layer of blood congealing on the blade mangled the reflections and Allen could no longer look at it.

"Please excuse me, but I need to collect a sample of this, then let Hevlaska evaluate Mugen." He then gave the general a very neutral look. "I daresay it should only take me a few minutes. Noise Marie, would you also look after Lenalee for me?"

She stiffened angrily. "I'm not a-"

Marie inclined his head immediately, and Allen realized what they were doing. Or rather, what they were getting out of. Leverrier had given both Komui and Tiedoll very specific orders. They were also the two most likely high-ranking officials to want to be a part of Kanda's questioning.

Or the two most likely to object to Leverrier's interrogation techniques.

"I would be honored," Marie murmured, and Lenalee subsided as she, too, must have figured it out.

"Then we shall leave you to your work," Tiedoll replied, extending an arm politely. "If I could trouble you, Miss Lenalee, I am in need of an opinion, and I am afraid Marie and Chaoji are not suited to render it."

"Mr. Walker," Nikolai added, following the general's lead, and against his better judgment, Allen obeyed. And he wondered if Nikolai had caught on as well.

Link would have.

-x-

Reever joined him in the northwest hallway and kept up with his long strides.

"Two of the golems have recoverable footage from last night, but it's going to take time-"

"Good." Late was better than none at all. "Where has Leverrier taken him?"

Reever made a note on his clipboard. "Panel room."

That made sense from many angles. He could be hoping Kanda was cowed by it, as he had seemed to be last week. There was also the issue of its location, and the fact it had been chosen specifically for that due to its relative security. What would be difficult for a Noah to get into or Kanda to get out of before would be again.

Not that he expected Leverrier to take it easy this time. No, Kanda'd now shown himself as attacking his own side twice, and this time not on the command of his elusive Noah 'master-'

Unless . . .

"Contact China. We need Kanda's medical records, as early as they started keeping them."

Reever made a noise of disagreement. "We can't make that kind of request, even through Bak, without his knowing-"

Komui folded his lips into a thin line. "I know."

They rounded the corner and hurried down the marble stairs, towards the new science wing. All he needed was a jar, just to be sure this blood belonged to the inspectors that had been assigned to watch Kanda. They were Crow, exactly like Link, it was insane that Kanda could have taken them so easily in his condition and if they weren't both near death he would consider berating them for letting it get this far.

"Supervisor." Reever put a hand on his shoulder, stopping their near-sprint. "You're talking about your career."

And he was. Leverrier would know that he pulled Kanda's medical records, and would know why. It was impossible to drug Kanda, at least for any length of time. You had to feed the chemicals into his blood constantly in order to keep him unconscious during surgery. Or hypnosis.

It was the only explanation. The Noah had put something into his head, a dream, an instruction. Something that had required them to keep him for six weeks to figure out how to do it. The first clues to Kanda's whereabouts had come immediately, so perhaps the Noah hadn't expected it to take as long as it did, whatever it was.

It was the only explanation. Kanda could not betray them so completely and have increased his synchronization to Mugen simultaneously. Something had happened, something had changed, and it had happened last night.

But if he pursued defense for Kanda a second time, Leverrier would prove insubordination or desperation and pull him out. He would no longer even be Acting Supervisor Komui. He would just be a member of a science team.

Reever put his other hand – and the clipboard - on Komui's shoulders, startling him. "Is he worth Lenalee?"

Komui felt himself pulling away, and he hated himself for it. Hurrying down the stairs was easier. "Hah, Reever, you saw her. She won't forgive me if I do it again."

He was starting to think she wouldn't forgive him for doing it once. She was strong, his Lenalee. She was grown. She was a woman, a woman with an understanding of her Innocence such as she had never had. She and the Dark Boots were working together now, one no longer limited to the tool of the other.

No matter what happened to him, she could go on now.

"It's not her forgiveness you need," Reever called, no longer following. "I'll give you as much time as I can."

Leverrier had already sent a message, there was no doubt about it. Soon someone would come from Central, with a canvas bag slung over their shoulder, and they would disappear into that room with Kanda. And when they were done, Kanda Yuu would confess to starting the goddamn Crusades. It would take longer with him than anyone else, but it was a certainty. If the Noah could crack him, the Order could break him.

And he wasn't going to let that happen. Even if it meant all he could do was send her letters.

It was the only way he could keep her. And it was the right thing to do.

Reever would handle the small details – pull all the golem footage, look for an intruder, any suspicious activity, reconstruct what happened there last night. All he needed to do was confirm that Mugen hadn't been tampered with and get into that room.

And find Bridget Faye.

-x-

This time there was no catering to his condition. When he had said bind he had had chains in mind, but his guards were nothing if not literal. Binding was a type of spell used to incapacitate, and they had executed it well. The sheer weight of the spell was already causing Kanda's legs to tremble. It wouldn't be long before he succumbed.

Perhaps it would remind him of his master.

Leverrier didn't bother to hide behind the lights and the benches. He came forward, circling the bound Exorcist, silently studying him. Sullen eyes tracked him when he was in sight, but otherwise there was no sign of fear. No sign of failure.

If the Noah had truly done the things Kanda had said – and there was little reason to disbelieve him, the curse stated clearly enough that his body had been all but destroyed – he would have expected some trepidation at the thought of revealing to the Noah that he had failed.

So perhaps he had not failed after all, and this was just a pretty distraction.

Leverrier stopped behind him, out of his line of sight, and stood with his lips beside Kanda Yuu's left ear. "No one will help you this time. No one will defend you." He knew he was perfectly safe; the runes kept the Exorcist's arms pinned to his sides, his feet from moving more than inches. He couldn't even so much as turn his head. "You squandered your chance and your freedom. And this time you will tell me everything."

Yuu snorted, and Leverrier pursed his lips.

"How did you temporarily lower your synchronization to Mugen?" Perhaps the question was more how he hid it from Hevlaska, but she could have been as taken by his act as everyone else.

Predictably, the teenager said nothing, and Leverrier circled around to face him, arms clasped behind his back. Kanda met his eyes squarely and still, there was not a shred of fear. Nor was there any sign of his previous capitulation. Nothing but anger and wariness was reflected in those eyes of his.

Perhaps things would be faster this way. "I will not accept silence. You will answer."

Kanda tried to shift his weight and failed. It wasn't an attack, merely an attempt to keep his precarious balance, and when he spoke, his voice was tight with the effort of continuing to stand. "I didn't."

He backhanded the Exorcist, hard enough to knock him off balance, and he reached out and caught the samurai by the collar of his shirt. His Exorcist's jacket had already been stripped from him. Leverrier yanked Kanda back up lest he fall on his back, and he was pleased to see surprise flicker across his face, even as he licked blood from his lip.

"You will not lie to me," Leverrier calmly instructed the boy, and was rewarded with narrowed eyes. "Perhaps I did not make myself clear. There is no second chance. You can speak now of your own free will, or we can extract the answers from you. That is the only choice before you."

Behind him the door opened, and there was a brief conversation. Kanda's eyes slid from his face to the right, then his bloodied lips turned up just slightly. It was too close to a smirk for Leverrier's liking, and when he heard the voice he realized why.

So this boy really meant that much to him. Clearly he was no longer objective enough to remain the Order's top supervisor.

"Report."

Komui had been stupid enough to come in, and his guard had had no option but to let him, but he wasn't stupid enough to ignore an order. "Hevlaska has confirmed that Mugen has not been tampered with. It's still synchronized to Kanda."

Curious.

Leverrier spun away, letting Kanda contemplate the change in his position, and gave Komui a stern look. The chinaman had the audacity to look smug, and behind him, his Order-assigned secretary was frowning. Bookman was still leaning quietly in his corner, silently watching them, and he wondered if Komui had even noticed him.

"Do you mind if I continue the interrogation, Inspector Leverrier?"

Of course. But fighting in front of Kanda would undo the tone he had just set. "It hasn't yet begun. We will wait for specialists from Rome."

"Ah. I haven't yet sent for one," Komui replied. When Leverrier raised an eyebrow, he continued. "Though I have no doubt you have, I haven't yet escalated the issue to Central. As you are well aware," and Bridget shifted her armload of papers, "matters of altercations involving Exorcists are the responsibility of the chief supervisor to mediate."

More than ever he missed the presence of Link. He would know of a clause to set the idiot back in his place. "The murder of two inspectors would quantify this as more than an altercation, wouldn't you agree?"

"Matron is monitoring them as we speak." Komui's eyes shifted from Leverrier to the Exorcist. "Both are still alive, just."

There was no way to restore the previous atmosphere, and Leverrier stopped trying. If Komui was that desperate to redeem himself, it cost them little. He had indeed already sent for the man he had had in mind for the last two weeks, so allowing Komui the last word on this was only temporary. "Let us hope they remain that way," he murmured, and allowed Komui to step around him.

Rather unexpectedly, though, Lee's tone was not delicate. "Why did you attack your guard?"

There was silence from the Japanese teen.

"Why did you attack Allen?"

"Che." His breathing was getting heavier with effort, but otherwise he seemed unaffected.

"Kanda." It was almost a rebuke. "Who was your target?" A brief pause. "Was it Lenalee?"

Leverrier turned his head, gauging Kanda's expression. It was darker than it had been before, almost as if Kanda was disappointed in his treatment. If he was to serve as a distraction, was he unhappy because they had fallen for it, or because somehow Komui had not?

"Why didn't you kill Link?"

The door opened again, this time admitted none other than Tiedoll, and Leverrier decided to put an end to this before it got out of hand. "General," he greeted coldly. "And how is Miss Lenalee?"

"She is fine." Tiedoll had eyes only for Komui and his pupil, and Leverrier saw the distrust was still there. Perhaps Komui was the reason the general felt the need to violate an order from a higher-ranking official. Another reason to pull Komui from his position, though at the moment it might be useful to him.

"I believe I gave you an order to keep her that way."

"He approved Noise Marie's plans," Komui murmured, back now to Kanda. "And as you said, Marie was able to walk away from a fight with four level fours, so I assume he is capable of keeping an armed and uninjured Exorcist safe."

Leverrier almost smiled. Well-played, if transparent. "I certainly hope this is not a distraction, and we come to regret that decision."

"Marie is a capable Exorcist. They'll be fine." Tiedoll was staring at Kanda quite openly, and for the first time, Kanda Yuu responded. He lowered his gaze to the floor for several long moments, then back up again. Almost as if a bow, though he could not move.

Acknowledging him, certainly, but why?

The door opened yet again, and Leverrier was going to order the guards to prevent any more entries when he saw that it was Link. He was still pale, expression apologetic as he passed Tiedoll and bowed quickly.

Still, the reprimand needed to be made. "Did I not order you to the infirmary?"

"Yes, sir," he answered at once. His voice was no better, hoarse and breathy. "While I was being treated, Inspector Finn regained consciousness." Link's expression told him clearly that he was frustrated at his lack of ability to speak more quietly.

No matter. All of it would come out sooner or later, and there was nothing that could save Kanda Yuu from a full trial now. His synchronization aside, he had attacked Order personnel without provocation and it appeared his two objectives were the suspected Heart and the host of the Fourteenth, two of the Earl's chief targets.

He gave the young inspector a barely perceptible nod, and Link frowned but continued. "He stated last night there was a . . . change in air pressure in Kanda's quarters." He had to swallow midway to continue. "It repeated after twenty minutes. They checked, but the windows were closed."

Change in air pressure . . ?

Link turned, focusing on the Exorcist, who was also intently focused on him. They stared at each other for a long moment, and then Link addressed him. "I went to your quarters. A page of your report is missing."

A late night visitor, then? Leverrier was content to let Link continue; he had the Exorcist's full and undivided attention, and furthermore, Link's tone indicated he'd already assembled these pieces. He had come to either a conclusion or a recommendation, and he would not have disobeyed his order to be treated by Matron unless it was of vital importance.

"What you said to me . . . and your synch rate suddenly increasing . . ." Link swallowed again. "Tell me, what is the date?"

Kanda's eyes sharpened, but he did not respond.

"Day of the week, if you don't remember the date."

Silence. Tiedoll cleared his throat. "Answer him, Yuu."

And Kanda obeyed. "Wrong," he growled.

"Inconsistent, isn't it," Link guessed. "One of many, though. You know that Akuma took you through a Gate but it's simply inconceivable . . . that it would have put you safely in your bed."

Leverrier narrowed his eyes but he didn't rein in his apprentice. Again, there was no harm in letting Howard get the practice. And much as he hated to admit it, the young man was getting more emotional responses out of Yuu than he had. Kanda, for his part, simply watched him, but that sullen quality was growing increasingly obvious.

"But you don't feel the same. Your strength is gone. Your hair is different. You're underweight. The condition of your curse is another impossibility."

The surly quality turned to a look of warning that Link ignored entirely. He was still fighting his voice. "You sat up and saw Mugen where you always leave it, intact. There were reports on your desk, written in your own hand, that stated you . . . told a Noah details concerning Allen Walker's gradual descent into becoming the Fourteenth." The inspector turned his back on Kanda, searching out Leverrier's face, and again, he considered taking over before deciding against it. At his nod, Link addressed the room rather than any one of them. "That's simply impossible, isn't it, Kanda Yuu?"

And then Leverrier realized where the young inspector was headed. The sudden look of shock on Komui's face indicated he had figured it out as well. Behind them, Bookman shifted, his eyes narrow, and gave him a long look.

_You will continue letting him speak?_ his expression seemed to say, but now that Link had, there was no point in stopping him. Better he lay out everything the way he had arranged it so Leverrier could shut it down completely.

"There were guards outside your door. You incapacitated them, too easily, they were too surprised. Another error, another inconsistency. There was too much security around your room, new lights, too many golems. You destroyed them to announce yourself, and then you went to the center of activity and there . . . you happened to find Lenalee Lee and Allen Walker, the two most important enemies of the Earl, waiting for you."

"And you attacked Allen," Komui said slowly, "because he's Rhode Camelot's favorite."

"And Rhode wouldn't let you do something like that so quickly into her dream," Link continued. "It wouldn't be any fun if you didn't play. You knew that from reading the files, even if you've . . . never met her yourself."

"Howard Link got in your way, and you thought he was the dream's embodiment of Rhode." At least the general sounded slightly skeptical. "And why wouldn't she cast herself as the person who spends the most time with Allen."

"And killing Rhode in the dream does damage to her physical self," Link finished, then he turned. "But you stopped your attack. Why."

A thick silence descended as they waited for his answer. "You're weak," Kanda said simply.

"And Rhode wouldn't be?"

"He would not dream of a scenario where Howard Link was so easy to defeat." Tiedoll sounded very sure of himself. "Nor would Rhode Camelot."

No. It was all too neat, explained everything all too well. Leverrier didn't buy it. "You propose his late night visitor was a Noah?"

"I do." Link sounded absolutely certain. "When Allen Walker opened a Gate on the train, I noticed the same thing Inspector Finn did. A change in air pressure, as if Walker had opened a window." He gestured at the bound Exorcist. "Then there is the page missing from his report."

"You think he gave us the name of the Noah?"

"I think the Earl would be lax if he did not know by now . . . that Kanda Yuu had survived." Link looked back at Kanda. "There was still much information he had yet to share."

"Or perhaps Yuu was right," Tiedoll murmured. "Perhaps that elusive Noah could predict that he would eventually give the name to us, and was forced to act."

"Wiping his memories protects the Noah Clan. And leaving him alive puts us into a state of confusion. Leaving Mugen intact . . . it makes us question whether a Noah would do such a thing." Komui shook his head. "And eliminating the memories also eliminated the changes in him. That's why Kanda's synchronization increased."

And of course Komui would try to tie that together. "You propose that synchronization was not lowered because of his disloyalty?"

"We won't know until we let Hevlaska evaluate them."

"Master."

Everyone fell silent, turning back to Kanda Yuu. He had apparently had enough of their speculation, and Leverrier felt his eyes narrow. Not about to let them take his Noah master's name in vain, was he?

But the Exorcist was looking at Froi Tiedoll. And though he asked no question, the general made a noise in the affirmative.

"Yes, Yuu," he said, his tone gentle. Clearly he felt Howard's evaluation of events to be possible. "It is March. Tell me, what do you remember?"

The Japanese Exorcist's eyes narrowed. "Spain," he replied shortly. Then, oddly, he dropped his eyes to the floor.

His general sighed. "Yuu-"

"I don't care," he snapped, but he didn't look up. He was trembling visibly now from the strain of remaining on his feet, but the cut on his lip had long ago healed.

They were all silent a moment, considering what they had heard, and Komui cleared his throat. "Let him go," he ordered the guards. "We need to get him evaluated by Hevlaska immediately."

True to their training, they looked to him, and Leverrier paused again. It was simply too neat. A Noah had infiltrated Order headquarters unseen by anyone, and the only thing he did was take the memories of the last eight weeks from one Exorcist?

Yet misleading them would only work to his advantage. Komui was correct; so long as the inspectors remained alive, he could do little to Kanda Yuu directly until Komui could be convinced to escalate the matter. Apparently threatening his position was not sufficient.

No matter. The threat of transferring Lenalee was his next card, and it would be more than enough. Link had his back to all of them, but gave him a barely perceptible nod, and Leverrier inclined his head.

"He is to be kept secure at all times. I want him out of sight until we sort this out."

"I will ensure it," Tiedoll promised, and with a joint gesture from the guards the runes fluttered to the floor, nothing but cardboard. Kanda stumbled, almost falling, but shied away from the hand Froi put out to catch him. Leverrier watched him closely as they moved towards the hallway, and with a jerk of his chin he indicated his guard was to follow. They did obediently, leaving him alone with Howard Link.

"It's too convenient." Link did not contradict him. "Why would a Noah stop with only one Exorcist, when both the suspected Heart and the Fourteenth were here and known." Still, he supposed the fact that they would likely never be able to prove the Noah's presence last night worked in the Earl's favor.

"It is not an act." Link's tone was deferential but sure. "He would never have discarded Mugen if he believed the Innocence was really his own."

There were many explanations for a memory wipe, and not all of them included the Noah. It was not outside of the realm of magic, certainly, and Cross's staged murder came immediately to mind.

In fact . . . "Interview Nikolai. I want to know every second of Allen Walker's evening."

"Yes sir."

-x-

**Author's Notes**: I assume you read the notes at the top. If you didn't, please go do that? The ending that you've already read will not change. The last scene of this fic will indeed remain Kanda and Krory sharing airspace with none other than Sheryl Camelot.

However, this time, you can vote! I had considered an epilogue, if you will, with the Noah, that would reveal who is responsible for Kanda's memory loss. Our options are almost limitless (though I already all but announced it. =) If you'd prefer to suspect your favorite Cross/Allen/Tyki/Sheryl/Rhode/Fourteenth/Link then vote NO. If you'd prefer to know who it was, vote YES.

Also, Melric, keep in mind – your pressie can be posted publically, and if you want, you can request a lost scene from this fic. Or anything else you want, don't feel any pressure. I'm just giving you options. ; )


	22. Chapter 15 CIP: Begin Again

Disclaimer in previous chapters. Please see Author's Notes at the end.

**NOTE**: This is a **CIP** (Curse is Physical) chapter. **CIP** supposes a curse can accelerate the normal healing capabilities of the human body, but not surpass them. Please note that **CIM** and **CIP** chapters **will share some content****.** They will simply move in different directions.

-x-

Getting up at two am was not a disruption of her schedule.

There were always patients to be caring for, and while not all of them required a re-evaluation or another dose of medicine at regular intervals, some did, and it was inevitable that the dosage would fall somewhere between two and four o'clock in the morning. So it was with rather bright eyes she took in the two inspectors, and it was because of those bright eyes she realized they weren't at their posts.

They were standing right in front of the door, heads bowed together, and appeared to be having a conversation. At her approach, in slippers so as not to wake the rest of the floor, the taller of the two stepped away. Neither looked troubled, only serious, and she realized that she must have timed it just right.

He was awake, and the inspectors did not know what to do.

They were superfluous and a waste of Order resources, being utilized only as babysitters. Kanda Yuu was no more a threat to their side than he was to the Noah, at least like this. Matron had never quite figured out if they were there to protect Kanda from the Noah they were afraid would pursue him, or from the rest of the Order.

"He's awake, then?"

The inspector who had stepped towards her shook his head. "He has not stirred," he replied quietly, though he added nothing more. Matron was not surprised. Despite the early 'bedtime' that had been reported to her when she'd come by to check on him at ten, it was dark outside. Kanda Yuu in general slept only six or seven hours, but he was unlikely to wake in the middle of the night. More likely he'd sleep till four or five, then.

Of course, if she opened the door, he'd wake.

Matron clucked her tongue at herself. They'd spoken. If he slept through that, he'd sleep through the door opening. If not, she'd already woken him. Nothing for it now but to try to convince him to drink the sweet potion in the cup she was carrying. He disliked things that were sweet, or at least professed to, but better sweet than bitter. The glass syringe in her apron pocket was a backup.

The other inspector opened the door for her, silently, and she took a few steps in, peering around the square of light to see her charge. They were correct; the lump on the bed didn't stir, though she could clearly see his head on the pillow.

He was on his back.

"Kanda," she called gently, because of course he _was_ awake. He did not sleep on his back; like Lavi and Allen, he was a right-side sleeper, so he must have been staring at the ceiling and wondering why he was awake. Whatever he was thinking or watching, he didn't turn in her direction, and she came up to the bed steadily, making no sudden moves. But she was mistaken, his eyes were closed, perhaps the light . . . ?

"Kanda dear," she tried again, but he didn't open his eyes. Frowning, she set the cup down on his nightstand and put a hand on his brow.

-x-

He stared at the door for a long time before he dared to knock.

He stared at the door for a long time _after _he dared to knock. His second set of raps didn't get him any further than the first, and a new, unpleasant thought wormed into his skull.

What if Kanda wasn't the only one.

Komui Lee didn't bother with a third knock; he simply grasped the doorhandle. It would not turn. Locked. Komui rattled the door, hard. "Lavi!"

And then the handle was yanked out of his grasp, and a crusty green eye squinted at him.

Lavi was indeed alive, standing there in a long shirt, sleeping patch askew on swollen flesh and Ozuchi Kozuchi in his hand. Several yards down the hall, a second door opened. Bookman wanting to know what was going on.

"What?" Lavi croaked, then swallowed thickly. Komui was unable to hide a brief sigh of relief, and the Bookman's apprentice blinked slowly at him. "'s stupid o'clock inna mornin'-" His face was blotchy even ignoring the black eye – his covered one - and the flesh of his cheeks was imprinted, as if he had pressed them very hard into cloth and fallen asleep that way.

"Lavi . . ." So he was not fine. . . but no. It was unthinkable. Yet the golems showed it clearly, he and Tiedoll left the room, and the guards never entered. The perimeter network showed no entry, human or otherwise, and the window was still locked. No one went in after them except Matron. And it was clear Lavi knew, clear that he had been crying-

And if he knew, then why -

But the green eye became a little more aware, a little more wary. Lavi shuffled back into his room without bothering to shut the door, and in a moment there were sounds of fabric being handled violently. Bookman was not in his Exorcist robes but was dressed, and his face was serious.

"What is it, Komui?"

Komui shook his head, waiting for Lavi to reappear. He was going to ask questions before he made any assumptions, certainly before he made any accusations. The redhead reappeared, having slipped on a pair of pants and simple footwear, but he shouldered past the two older men before Komui could find the words.

"You found him, right?"

. . . or maybe questions weren't necessary. Komui hesitated. " . . . yes."

Bookman's ears were as sharp as his eyes. "Lavi."

The redhead stopped, but he didn't turn around, and the Bookman frowned.

"Kanda's . . . Kanda's dead." If Komui said it quickly, it seemed like two nonsensical words strung together. Bookman clearly found it so, if the noise he made was any indication, and Komui continued in the hope the other words would be as easy. "Matron is performing an autopsy now, but she's already found preliminary signs of poisoning."

"Poison?" Bookman repeated incredulously.

"Foxglove." Lavi's voice echoed off the stone in front of him and it chilled the sound. "Was probably still stuck in his teeth, right?"

" . . . how do you know that, Lavi?"

He started walking again, down the hall. It wasn't hurried; in fact, it seemed like Lavi was dragging his feet. This was not flight. "We'll need to wake up General Tiedoll."

The general's quarters were on the same floor, not particularly far away, and the two adults followed the redheaded teenager as he led the way. It was Bookman who broke their silence.

"What happened to your hand?"

Lavi's right hand disappeared in front of him; presumably Lavi was inspecting it. "Cut it on glass," he replied shortly. As much as he loved sleep, Lavi was always quick to throw it off, especially if he was surprised. "Looks like he's still up."

They rounded the same corner, and Komui saw that a tall shadow had taken up residence outside the general's quarters. Unlike Kanda's guard, though, Noise Marie was seated, one knee drawn up and acting as the stand for his chin and arms. He did not look up at their approach, and it occurred to Komui that their conversation could not have escaped him any more than their footsteps.

He seemed no more surprised by the information than Lavi had, and Komui floundered. If Lavi and Tiedoll had both known, why had they said nothing . . . ?

But then a tear rolled down Marie's jaw, and he realized his mistake.

-x-

There was a low thump.

Tiedoll felt his head nod in surprise, but the reflex was slow. Insufficient had it signaled an attack, certainly. Nor did Maker of Eden respond in the slightest, though a mere four weeks ago it would have been enough to make his Innocence query him.

But Maker of Eden was silent. It was not disapproving. His Innocence had learned enough about him to know its opinion would not significantly shift its accommodator and in this case would only deepen his feelings. But he knew the Innocence was impatient, and doing its best to hide that from him.

He had learned enough about his Innocence in their time together to know that.

Though he had used his voice for hours and hours, the brief quiet he had enjoyed had turned his vocal chords into paste. "Release him, Marie," he forced out, into the room. It wasn't loud; wasn't half as loud or as hard as the blow must have been, for him to have heard it through the stone walls. They muffled sound wonderfully; no one but his guard would have heard him sobbing, yet his guard was one of the two people in the great sprawling building that he would have hidden his emotions from if he could have.

And his guard would never have thrown a female up against the wall, so though he had no idea who had woken Marie's wrath, he could be sure he'd chosen the correct pronoun.

"Come in," he added, focusing on the sofa opposite him. It had been watching him for a little over an hour now. He thought perhaps his sudden quieting had confused it.

And if he was giving the sofa a voice and emotions of its own, he could recognize that his grasp on consciousness and rationale had left him a long time ago.

He would sleep when it was time. Until then, Yuu needed to be considered.

It took whoever was out there with Noise Marie a while to settle the matter of coming in or not, but eventually the door opened. Marie would know that the words had been meant for all of them. He would be upset that he had been denied entry earlier, but Tiedoll could not bear to see him. Nor Chaoji. Daisya-kun had been lost in combat, but Yuu-kun –

Perhaps he should ask the engraver to note the proper date of Kanda's death on his casket. The date the Noah had taken him. That was the day he had truly lost the boy, and when Kanda had known it, and given up his Innocence to save it rather than giving himself a fighting chance.

Of course, even the report made it clear that Kanda wasn't saving only Mugen with that act. He had probably been appalled at how transparent the gesture had been. It spoke to his frame of mind in that moment.

That was the last decision Kanda Yuu had ever really made.

He closed his eyes because they hurt, and listened to everyone file into the room. If he was Marie, he would have known how many had entered based upon footsteps. If he were himself, he would have simply sensed the number. But he was neither awake nor asleep, and he was certainly no general. Maker of Eden remained silent, without so much as a throb to comfort him.

Which was an action in of itself. His Innocence was patient, but it would not let him wallow. That was why he needed to face this, all of it, and complete the tasks that had been laid out for him. Then he could sleep. He could not bear the thought of waking up to this day.

"General." It was Komui, of course it was Komui. He had been notified as soon as the body had been discovered. He had pored over the golem footage to try to figure out what had happened, because of course Kanda had not died of his wounds, his curse would not allow him to be killed so peacefully in his bed. Komui had known to look for the lotus and found it gone.

Perhaps one of the perimeter golems had caught the hourglass falling from Kanda's window, empty. Only the glass and wood that he himself had made for Kanda. The lotus petals would be too small and insignificant to be seen by the golems, they would look like raindrops from a distance.

He wondered if those were the only tears Kanda had let himself shed.

It was Marie, quiet Noise Marie, that asked him the first question. "Master . . . how can this be?"

Indeed, he did not have the answer to that question. "It is his body." The paste was starting to congeal again, into a foreign shape, but he decided he didn't care what his voice sounded like. "It is not a doll, nor a trick." Even if he had wanted to spirit Kanda Yuu away from the Order, and left Art in Kanda's place, Matron would realize she was dealing with a doll soon enough. She was a very bright woman, and she had done her best.

It occurred to him he had not answered Marie's question; rather, he had answered the one that was unasked. "You must remember, Marie, that the memories he had lost were those long past. Had Lavi been the one to hurt him, or the lotus, Yuu would never have tolerated his presence in the room."

There was a heavy silence. None of them moved into his line of sight, and he did not turn his head. He sat in the loveseat, with a blanket wrapped tightly around him, and stared at the sofa. It was no longer staring back.

His eyes had sufficiently recovered their water, but this time the tears did not have the power to close his throat and compress his lungs. He no longer knew who he was weeping for, and there would be no cleansing from it.

"Kanda did try to throw me out." It was Lavi's voice, still light. A mere boy, in such control of himself. "He didn't want anyone to see."

Noise Marie made a disbelieving sound, and Tiedoll closed his eyes. "Is Mugen still with him?"

"Yes." Komui's response was quick. "I wanted to speak with you and Lavi before I . . . tested in that manner."

"Leave them together until the funeral." It was only a request, one that Leverrier could overturn if he wished to test whether it truly _was_ Kanda lying cold on his deathbed, but it did not hurt to make it.

"It is truly so?" Perhaps Bookman's voice was so gravelly because his voicebox had turned to paste and rock so many times in his life it barely worked anymore. "Kanda did this to himself?"

"Kanda would never have given up." Marie's voice sounded so firm, and so hurt. "He has too much pride-"

"Had," Tiedoll corrected, and hated himself for it. "The Noah took him away and we did not take him back. Were you not the one who told me, Marie-kun? That his heart was not the same?"

The young African swallowed a sound, but he did not contradict.

He had no grounds to. Everyone there in the room knew what Tiedoll had been referring to. "He believed we will lose. I wonder if perhaps his synchronization never increased because he did not wish it to."

"Froi-"

"Lavi tells me that before he took the foxglove, he was meditating, and very upset. It is unusual that he would take Mugen to do so."

There was a brief pause. "General, I . . . I didn't tell you he took Mugen with him."

"His inspectors witnessed the same. At that time I would not have taken you at your word." Lavi knew he had spoken to the inspectors before he'd entered the room, and gotten an update on Kanda's activities for the day. There was nothing to gain by hiding his distrust. Or at least the distrust he had felt before he had seen the depth of Yuu's trust in the apprentice Bookman.

"You think . . ." Komui hesitated. "You think he was actually trying to lower his synchronization? To reject Mugen, become no longer compatible?"

He lifted his shoulders in a shrug, and realized it was very difficult. His back was a mass of knots. "We will never know for certain." The weeping was getting worse, and the tears were burning his eyes. "But even if he was, leave Mugen with him as long as you can."

He could not be buried with Mugen, after all – Exorcists were incinerated, not buried. Even if they were, the Innocence would find a way out into the world again, there was no reason for it to stay bound to the dead. Only Maria had managed to remain synchronized with her Innocence after her death, and only because Cross Marian had refused to let her go, and found a way to let her keep fighting.

Yuu clearly did not want to keep fighting.

A sob welled up out of his chest, chasing the thought away, and Tiedoll bowed his head.

"But why . . . if you saw him, why didn't you – why did you let him -"

"Why did I let him take poison?" Lavi somehow made the comment emotionless. "I didn't know what it was. Once I figured it out, it was too late."

Marie was getting tense again. "Matron could have-"

"Maybe. Maybe not. Even if she had managed to save his life, physically it'd've taken its toll." The Bookman's apprentice hesitated. "Most suicide victims want attention. I think we can all agree that wasn't Kanda's motivator. Once the lotus was gone . . . if he wanted to find a way, he would. Better his choice than a last resort." A hiss, a grinding of a boot in the carpet. "Besides, one quarter of one leaf is fatal. I saw him chewing on at least ten times that."

Marie was quiet for a long time. "Did he understand what was happening to him?" There was malice beneath it, perhaps not misplaced. Tiedoll himself had already wrestled with that concept.

Kanda was not an idiot, and he was not a child despite his innocent expressions of emotion. He had forgotten how to hide his feelings, certainly, and he had been plainly frightened by what was happening to him. Had he recalled enough about his early memories of life and death to truly understand what his more experienced mind had already decided?

Was it Lavi's place, a trained observer's place, to make that decision?

And for that question the successor of Bookman had no glib answer. "He finished off the leaves without spitting them out," he finally admitted, in a low voice. "And he was . . . agitated. When the symptoms hit, I think it startled him. But then, I've seen other men react the same way. I don't think he expected it to feel the way it felt to him."

"So there was pain." It was stilted.

"Digitalis has been a toxin of choice for centuries, as it can be easily hidden in sweet things." Somehow the scholarly tone of Bookman made the words a little easier to bear. "The symptoms are well documented. Muscle and abdominal pain, and hallucinations. He would have experienced extreme vertigo as well."

"The symptoms progressed very quickly." It almost sounded like a promise. "He calmed as soon as he realized General Tiedoll was there. After that, he . . . he let himself fall asleep instead of fighting it."

Marie's voice shook with something that was neither sadness nor fury. " . . . that is hardly peace, Lavi."

"He was comforted by our presence, mine and Lavi's both." Tiedoll could not bear the thoughts he could hear twisting in Noise Marie's head. "He died in my arms." Warm and safe. He had calmed because he knew that no matter how bad he felt, his general was there, his father was there and would never let anything happen to him. It hurt like a physical wound, that silent trust he had felt seeping through his arms no matter how tightly he held it to him. "But that quiet death was not for him. It was for us."

Marie was silent, fighting with his emotions, and the young Bookman plowed doggedly on. It was as though the silence bothered him. "It was certainly quieter than throwing himself out of the window after the lotus," Lavi offered. "There's no reason the Order would have to reveal that one of their Exorcists had committed suicide."

"And several reasons to want to conceal it," Bookman continued thoughtfully. "The morale of not only the Exorcists but also the Finders and staff. If it became known an Exorcist killed himself after being a captive of the Noah, or that the Exorcists believed this was a losing battle, it could cause significant harm to the Order." The old man sighed. "And none but those at the trial knew of Kanda's curse."

" . . . is that what you want?" Though there was a room full of people and Tiedoll could not see any of them, he knew Komui's question was for him.

What he wanted was to have been told the moment Kanda had been taken, and engaged the Noah then. What he wanted was to have actually gotten Yuu back before it was too late. But there was nothing to be done about that now, and hurting Komui, which part of him longed to do, would ultimately give him nothing but guilt. The work the other man had put into finding Kanda-kun, as useless as it had been, was still effort.

He simply would never trust him with one of his apprentices again. That was the easier and higher of the two roads.

"It is what he wanted to give us," he answered.

-x-

Somewhere very far away, the bed creaked, and suddenly the smell of breakfast burning wafted to her over the laughs of the polka-dotted crowd, and the dozen donuts with which she'd been discussing the finer points of how heartless Leverrier was suddenly seemed to fade into darkness.

A cool hand was placed across her forehead, brushing back her hair, and she hesitated, clawing halfheartedly towards consciousness. Nii-san . . . he would be sitting on the side of her mattress, waking her up the way he used to. He would have ruined the breakfast pot, it would take her all morning to scrub it out but that was okay, it was all she wanted –

But what had she been dreaming about earlier . . . ? Leverrier's face leapt out of a donut's center and she flinched back in surprise, jolting herself fully awake.

The hand on her forehead withdrew, and she blinked, taking a deep breath through her nose. Her room was dark – it wasn't even dawn – and the only light was the strip that showed her door was just slightly ajar. Someone was indeed sitting on the edge of her mattress, and even seeing only his outline, she knew who it was.

"Nii-san?" Still sleepy, she sat up, rubbing her eyes. "What's wrong?"

And then all her other memories came back to her.

He was slumped, oddly slumped, as if he had been working for nights and nights on end, and his head was turned towards her, so that all she could see was the height of his cheekbones and his hair, peeking out from beneath the beret. He didn't say anything at first, and she knew he would not have woken her like this if it was for a mission. He would not have dared to get that close.

"What's wrong?" she repeated, a little more coldly, when he said nothing. Was . . . was he hurt?

What did she care. She hoped he _was_ hurt. She hoped another one of his stupid distractionary experiments had blown up in his face and blasted his beloved coffee cup into smithereens too small for even Reever to find.

"I . . . I wouldn't have woken you, but this is important." His voice was odd, husky and light. "You said I should have told you sooner, you deserved to know, but . . . it's hard."

_He's crying_, she realized with a start. Not his usual bawling antics, this was calmer. Deeper. Much closer than he ever let her see. She found his hand on the mattress, the one that had woken her, and placed it between her own. He was shaking, and his fingers were still cool to the touch. _Something terrible has happened._

Her brother's head bowed, looking down at his hand in hers, and then he clasped them, surprisingly tightly, and she felt the tiniest little smidge of guilt. If this was all an act, to get them on speaking terms again, she was going to kick him through the damn _wall_ –

"Kanda died," he choked. "A few hours ago."

Somehow she blinked and she was standing, she had no memory of how she got out of the bed but she was tugging, and Komui was not letting go of her hand.

"No!" His voice was sharp, sharper through his tears than she'd heard in a long time. "No, Lenalee," he repeated, refusing to release her trapped hand, and she realized the Dark Boots were already quivering in her ankles, reacting to her, her feet were bare on the floor and her sleeping shorts would not be sufficient to keep off the chill-

No.

_No!_

"Matron is performing his autopsy, Lenalee . . . he wouldn't want you to see him like that."

That was impossible. It was _impossible_, Kanda couldn't just _die_, it wasn't as if he was old or injured or could have died even if he'd _wanted_ to-

Her thoughts were babbling out of her, and quite without meaning to she found herself sitting on the floor, still pulling, and Komui had his feet braced beside her ankles, not letting her go. It was a trick, it was a trap, it was the Noah come to take him away again or-

Leverrier's face shot through her mind, and Lenalee heard a very strange sound in her ears she was frightened had come from her. No. He wouldn't have. Even if he'd had something to do with Cross Marian's disappearance, he wouldn't – not Kanda –

"Lenalee. Look at me."

Now that the door wasn't directly behind him, she could see him. See one side of his face, it looked wavery and old to her flooding eyes. He looked old. He barely even looked like her brother, could this be a dream . . . ?

"He wouldn't want you to see him like he is right now." Her brother's voice shook. "I'll be notified when she's finished, and we can go down. If you want, for now I'll . . . I'll tell you what I know."

How could he . . . ? Why wouldn't he . . . ? The golems, there was work to be done, they had to find him, they had to save him-

How could they not have saved him?

"But . . . Lenalee-chan . . . this road you've chosen . . . there's more pain." Her brother took a halting breath. "I don't want that for you."

There was more. There was more?

The work had already been done. He had looked at the golems, he knew Kanda hadn't just died. He already _knew_ what happened, he knew and –

"But I can't - I can't lose you both." He bowed his head until his forehead was touching her trapped hands, and he shook with a suppressed sob.

It was hurting him. He would tell her, but it would hurt him.

How could anything hurt more than this?

He wept onto her hands, his tears warming both of them, and she stared at him, suddenly wide awake and aware that something had just happened, something that never should have happened. Her brother was broken, shattered there on the edge of her bed, weak and human and wrong and –

And Kanda was dead because of him.

She knew the moment she thought it that it was true, but it didn't bring the rush of hatred, of anger. He loved Kanda. He loved Kanda like she did, and if Kanda was gone, if he was dead, it was his fault.

She raised her chin, just a little. "Tell me."

-x-

The funeral was awful.

It was nothing Kanda would have wanted. For one, there were too many Exorcists present. All of the Order Exorcists that were still alive, with the exception of Sokaro, were in attendance. Fully a quarter of the China Branch staff was there as well, with an old man Allen recalled from the kitchens sobbing so hard Bak and Wong had to support him. Finders that were terrified of Kanda, that were murmuring darkly about him only days before stood solemn and respectful.

Lenalee couldn't stop crying, he wasn't sure she'd stopped ever since she'd gotten the news.

For another, it was decadent. The casket, the Order sigil draped over the polished wood that would be burned shortly and thus a tremendous waste to the thrifty Kanda. The pomp and fanfare had barely been palatable when it was Daisya Kanda had been laying to rest, so this much lingering over only his death would certainly have earned his mourners a mighty frown.

Allen disliked funerals as a rule, but excluding Mana's, Kanda's was the worst he had attended yet.

It was Komui who had given the eulegy, straight and to the point. Kanda had been a captive of the Noah, and despite the best medical care had died of his injuries. Strangely, Marie, Chaoji, even Tiedoll had said very little. The three of them stood the closest, a few steps ahead of everyone else, and Allen could not close his ears to Miranda's sobbing. Krory had put an awkward arm around her, but she was barely keeping her feet at all.

Why hadn't she noticed the damage when she was holding him in Recovery. Why had she let him go when he'd snarled at her to do just that. Why hadn't she insisted, why hadn't she seen.

As for Krory, he'd been there on the day Kanda had been taken. Why hadn't they three been able to stop that Akuma. Why had he stepped on the frame of the Gate. Why hadn't he been faster, why hadn't he seen what that Akuma had been heading for.

Lenalee was standing beside him, refusing to lean on either him or Lavi, who was on her other side. Lavi's bruises were just a shadow now, two days after Kanda had given them to him as a parting gift, but it didn't excuse him. Why hadn't he seen Kanda take the lotus. Why hadn't he realized what Kanda was doing. Why hadn't he entered that room a few seconds earlier, before the lotus was destroyed. If he hadn't let his feelings get in the way of his record, he would have caught those clues, and Kanda would still be alive.

On Allen's other side, thankfully, was not Nikolai. Link stood there, stiff in his dress uniform, eyes unclouded with tears or regret. He was a Crow. Had he acted in that fight, perhaps he could have ensnared the Akuma. Perhaps something would have changed. If he had not insisted that they not look for Kanda, if he had not been so damn loyal to Leverrier, maybe somehow Allen could have found Kanda sooner.

The Musician could have told him where Kanda was.

Only Kloud, aloof and solemn, and Lenalee had nothing to be guilty about. Only they had no way to blame themselves for what had happened.

Behind the Exorcists stood Komui, Reever, Bak, Epenstiene. Leverrier. Allen was glad of it; had Leverrier been in his line of sight he would have lost his temper.

Perhaps _that_, Kanda would have approved of. Allen could almost see him in his mind's eye, with that telltale smirk even as he whipped his ponytail around dismissively, shaking his head at the naïve child that would try to lecture someone like Leverrier.

He was going to miss that scorn.

He was going to miss that arrogant bastard. And he was never going to forget him.

The service, thankfully, was no longer for Kanda than it had been for any Exorcist, and once the Finders that filled in as a choir had finished their part of the Mass the unofficial lines could be broken. Lenalee stepped forward, towards the casket, holding her bundle tightly. When she came abreast of them Tiedoll moved and put his arm around her shoulders, and Allen watched him tilt his head towards her, obviously speaking. She nodded jerkily after a moment, and raised the bundle to her face.

Then she stepped forward once more, and laid the long, light blue sweater on the casket.

There was little else to do then, no one had brought roses because of course Kanda had no use for flowers. Allen stepped forward as well, sensing Link behind him, and Krory led the tottering Miranda towards a bench. Bookman and Lavi remained exactly where they were, neither speaking to the other, and Lavi did not shift his gaze from casket. Perhaps he was excused from his duties, but Allen suspected Lavi could not forget a second of this day if he wanted to.

Mugen was the only other item on the casket, the katana sleek and beautiful against the wood and black fabric. It was the Innocence that Allen couldn't take his eyes off. Suman's Innocence came to mind, but of course he had extracted it, or rather the Exorcist from it, and either way he was certain they were no longer synchronized when he had done it.

"Do not blame yourself, Walker." Link's voice was quiet but steady. He was clearly not accepting any responsibility.

"Shouldn't I?" Allen let himself smile, a little wanly. "Everyone else is blaming themselves."

"The Akuma was coming for me." Link could have been listing pie ingredients. "I had been preoccupied with the thought that they were there for you, and was caught unprepared."

Lenalee gave a little gasp, turning to look their way, but Allen found that deep down he was not surprised. Kanda had slipped, had said "_I blocked its attack on another_," had cut himself off before he'd said 'Exorcist.' He had blocked the Akuma's attack on another member of the party, and saying so would have made it obvious it was Link.

"Did that have anything to do with your almost killing yourself to get us out of there?"

The inspector frowned at him and rocked back on his heels. "Of course not, Mr. Walker."

"The inspector is right, Allen-kun." The general had cried himself out in the days between Kanda's death and now, and he managed to look a little serene. As if the funeral was actually a comfort to him. "Kanda-kun knew what he was doing."

"He was trying to save me." Lenalee flinched again, and Allen tried to give her a real smile. "He didn't drop Mugen or knock it away. He threw it at me so that I wouldn't be able to follow in time." Just like Allen himself had, Kanda had thought the Akuma were there for him.

None of them had known. Not until it was too late.

Komui stepped up to join them, and Allen was glad to see that Lenalee laid her head on his shoulder when he put an arm around her. "We need to return Mugen to Hevlaska," he said, without preamble. "Will you be his bearers?"

Tiedoll inclined his head. "Marie, will you carry Mugen?" His tone was warm. "Perhaps the Innocence will speak to your ears, and give you the answers you seek."

The African did not budge. "General, it is not my place-"

"Any Exorcist that is synchronized over one hundred percent interacts differently with Innocence. If I, or even Allen-kun, were to take up Mugen, the katana would shatter and be reduced to its original form. I do not think we should break the katana Master Zhu worked so hard to create here in front of everyone." Oddly, the general gave Marie a little nudge. "Kanda would want that as well."

There was no way to argue with that, and Noise Marie reverently picked up Mugen, rather than a corner of the casket. There were still plenty of hands to go around. The casket was light, not light enough to make Allen think it was an elaborate hoax, but not heavy enough to reflect the great loss that was inside. It seemed to take them no time before they had descended into the new halls, to the moldy cave where Hevlaska waited solemnly for them.

This party, too, was far too large. Kloud and Tiedoll, Lavi and Bookman, Komui and Lenalee, Chaoji and Marie. He and Link were there, and Epenstiene and Bak, and of course Leverrier. All to watch a piece of Innocence confirm it was no longer synchronized. All to bear witness to the fact that Kanda was truly gone, to a place even Innocence could not reach him.

They set the casket down gently, and Hevlaska bowed low. Marie stepped forward, offering the katana in the same ceremonial fashion Hevlaska had offered it to Kanda those weeks ago. Just as she took the Innocence, Marie's eyes widened, and then Allen saw the katana began to flake apart, almost like the sky had in Edo. This was not a shattering as much as a shedding of skin; soon the gear was exposed and glowing gently in Hevlaska's palms.

She smiled at the Innocence, which seemed to ring through the air, and then it floated by itself from her hand, and hovered in front of Froi Tiedoll.

He also smiled at the Innocence, and Allen almost heard something. But the general did not reach out and take it, and worse, he began to weep.

"I have failed you and your wielder both, haven't I." The Innocence blinked, floating there by his chest as if waiting for him to open his coat. "Ne, go with Kloud. She will take better care of you than I."

The female general was utterly still, though Lau Jimin peered around her shoulder at the other general for a long moment. Then he chittered.

The Innocence flew to her at once, and without the slightest bit of hesitation or self-consciousness disappeared into her cleavage.

She didn't appear surprised in the slightest, merely inclined her head to Hevlaska, then them, and turned and left the cave. Epenstiene went with her, and Leverrier turned, then hesitated.

"General, before you set out, I'd like a word."

Tiedoll made a grunt of assent. Leverrier paused again. "Perhaps his time as an Exorcist will be enough to forgive his sin in God's eyes."

". . . his sin?" Allen had spent enough time with Tiedoll now to recognize the tone of his voice was very soft, and very dangerous, like a young cobra.

Leverrier blinked at him. "The taking of one's own life is a damning sin, Froi Tiedoll. I only hope God will weigh the difference Kanda Yuu made here and not abandon him to Hell."

"Oh." Tiedoll was silent a moment. "Then I suppose we should be thankful Kanda was a Buddhist."

The inspector frowned, but did not pursue it, and with a quick step Link left Allen's side and left with the older inspector. And then there were only Exorcists, Komui, and Bak left in the room. Lenalee stepped up to the casket again, laying her hand on Kanda's sweater as if it was his face.

"I get it," she told the sweater, and swallowed. "I won't run away again."

No one else said anything. Farewells to Kanda would have been scoffed at, he didn't believe in goodbyes or welcomes. But Allen found that there were tears on his face, and those would have been scoffed at as well. Not that it was stopping anyone else; Marie was crying as well, and he knew Kanda perhaps better than any of them.

As if on cue, six Finders filed slowly in, Allen assumed to bear Kanda to the incinerators.

However, rather than taking positions around the casket they faced it in a row, and Bak cleared his throat. "In reference to the general's observation, I asked these men to pray for Kanda. They all grew up in a monastery that was destroyed by Akuma."

Allen looked up, watching, as the men moved back their hoods to reveal perfectly shaved heads. As one, they began a mesmerizing motion, walking around the casket, and their voices gradually rose in a low, rumbling chant in a language Allen didn't know. The tone of it seeped into his very bones and he could feel their voices reverberating in his chest.

Whatever it was they were saying, it made Lenalee cry harder, and soon enough Komui pulled her into his chest. But his lips were moving with the monks, chanting the words, and suddenly Allen could have sworn Link was standing right behind him again.

"Buddhists believe th' spirit hangs around in the body for a little while, and doesn't know it's dead," Lavi whispered in his ear. "It's called the Bardo period. The monks're tellin' Kanda how to find his way, either back to the Clear Light or to new parents, to be reborn."

"It is the Buddhist belief that good energies that surround a person after death will help them in rebirth," Bak said, not quietly but strongly, in a voice he meant to be heard. "Feeling responsible, or sorry for yourselves, it won't help him at all. Technically we're not giving Kanda enough time, or enough help, but I don't really think he'd have been patient enough to stick around even if we had."

Tiedoll barked out a chuckle, mopping at his face with a sleeve. "Well said," he commented, and somehow Allen found himself smiling in agreement.

-x-

The elevator ride was quite solemn, and the lobby no brighter. Had they still been in England, he was certain it would have rained, but this day had chosen to see Kanda off as a kind of haze, bright without being sunshiney, murky but well-lit. Kloud said nothing of his decision to give her the Innocence, but that was like her. Perhaps it would turn up again, perhaps she would have better luck finding a new accommodator.

Tiedoll could not bear to think on it.

Marie and Chaoji were with him, packed and ready to go, and at his nod they went to collect their traveling bags. Marie still looked ill at ease, and he would have to ask the boy, when he was ready, what it was that the Innocence had told him, just before Hevlaska released it. But not now.

"Lenalee, my dear."

She was walking on her own two feet, under her own power, resolutely ignoring the fact that Inspector Leverrier had made good his threat of requiring a final dispensing of orders, and waited patiently while he hunted around in the breast pocket of his coat.

He laid his hand on the paper quickly, and pulled it out. It was a page from his sketchbook, tri-folded, and he handed it to her that way, laying her hand flat on top.

"General . . . what is this?"

She would not open it now, but hopefully she would when she was ready. "It is the smile Kanda gave you." And so freely. Perhaps someday he should ask her, too, what that memory they had shared was, of being chased through the streets in Italy with his beloved son. "I would like to see it again one day, but not now. Will you keep it safe for me?"

Her hand began to shake, but she nodded quickly, and as he had expected, she did not open the sketch. Clutching this new burden to her, she hurried off towards the stairs.

Hopefully it was lighter than the sweater, that would remind her of all the times he had been ill enough to need it. It had not been his best crocheting attempt, either, but the wool had been soft and Kanda had loved it so.

"Where are you going?"

Had it been anyone else, it would have sounded like a protest, but Allen simply wanted to know the direction of his search. Knowing Cross, it was probably a question Allen did not expect to be answered.

"We have not been to the Middle East in some time. Perhaps I will find an accommodator there."

The boy nodded, eyes on Chaoji and Marie, who were patiently waiting for him. "It wasn't your fault, you know."

Tiedoll couldn't help himself. He smiled. Allen had no idea how very much like Kanda he was. "Perhaps not. Perhaps I will set down that burden when you set down yours."

The white-headed boy accepted that by bowing, a gesture Tiedoll returned, and then he was relatively alone, standing in front of the elevator, and Leverrier determined he had been patient long enough. The inspector's look was mild.

"I trust you will remain in close contact despite your differences with Supervisor Komui?"

"Not _acting_ Supervisor Komui? Or perhaps you would not hold him to forcing Innocence to crystallize around the dead."

Leverrier's gaze sharpened. "His position was not restored based upon the success or failure of Kanda's synchronization."

"Too difficult to measure? Or perhaps you thought it was lesson enough?" Tiedoll began to button his jacket. "Which reminds me. There was one detail I noticed, that seems to have slipped Kanda's mind. Or rather, I don't think he realized the importance of it."

The inspector gave him a long, skeptical look. "And what might that detail be?"

"It was the mansion in which he was being kept." One by one, the buttons slipped into place, the barrier between his heart and everything else. "I might not have noticed it myself but for the number of times I've been there. The similarity was striking, down to the carvings on the banister."

"You had been to the mansion previously?"

The general lifted his chin, setting his collar properly. "Not exactly. As you know, I am an artist, and I tend to notice scrollwork on mantle carvings and reliefs on the ceilings of older buildings. Though I doubt there's enough of it left standing for the Finders dispatched there to get an accurate floorplan."

Leverrier was silent, waiting for him to get to the point, and Tiedoll adjusted his throat. "It would seem that the Noah's mansion was a perfect replica, on a one-third scale, of a building I'm certain you're also quite familiar with."

"Oh?"

Tiedoll nodded. "Indeed. I have seen that scrollwork in only one other place on earth. The great room of the Leverrier family estate."

Leverrier's eyes widened slightly as it sank home, and the general gave him a dry smile. "The detail was so perfect, and so accurately to scale, that it makes me wonder how many trips a Noah would have had to make there to get every nuance so painstakingly correct. Coupled with our suspicion that this Noah is operating under the public eye, it would seem that the Noah that tortured my apprentice is a regular visitor to the Leverrier home."

The inspector had gone quite pale, and Tiedoll left his smile in place. "Perhaps some of his money has even found its way into Order coffers. It would seem a very effective method for the Earl to gain information, if one of his Noah was one of your most generous benefactors. After all, I've been a general here with the Order for perhaps nine years now, and I've only been invited to your house perhaps three times?"

He took a thoughtful pause. "Though I doubt the rest of the Order leadership would see it that way. A Leverrier, of all people, wining and dining our enemy for a few pounds of gold, and dropping heaven only knows what details right into the Earl's lap." He took a step closer, as if to bid the man goodbye.

Which he was. "It would be extremely unfortunate for you if the Vatican was to learn this particular detail. You must be very relieved Kanda didn't realize what house it was he was captive in for so long."

Leverrier didn't say a word, which was the first smart thing he had done all day.

"You, your family members, and all those under your command are never to interfere with my apprentices again. And I believe you should increase the number of invitations I receive to your engagements, Leverrier. You would be much safe with an Exorcist nearby should that Noah determine you are of no more use."

With that he turned on his heels, smoothing his expression for Chaoji's sake, and when he was close enough, he shouldered the pack they offered him.

They did not say anything, so he didn't either, and together the three of them stepped out of the large double doors and into the hazy afternoon sun.

-x-

**Author's Notes**: This is the ending of the CIP version of events. It contains almost all the details I wanted to cover, but I have to say I'm a little relieved that I decided to continue the CIM chapters to my heart's content; this would have been a helluva depressing ending for this little one-shot of mine, and I'm rather glad it will end on a somewhat happier note.

Because of the scenes I will be incorporating into the CIM side of things, it occurred to me that a plothole that had prevented me from doing something I wanted will be gone. So the ending will in fact still be the one some of you read, regarding Kanda and Sheryl, but the Exorcist that is with Kanda might not end up being Krory after all. Those of you that stuck through the CIP version, thank you very much for your support, and I hope that you liked it!


	23. Chapter 16 CIM: Risks

Disclaimer in previous chapters. Please see Author's Notes at the end.

**NOTE**: This is a **CIM** (Curse is Magical) chapter. **CIM** supposes a curse can restore beyond what is capable by the human body. Please note that **CIM** and **CIP** chapters **shared some content****.** They simply moved in different directions.

-x-

He didn't give it a second thought. Their meeting had been interrupted by Kanda's rampage, so it only made sense that he would be summoned several hours later to the previously appointed room. Leverrier was likely doing all sorts of unpleasant things to Kanda, which Allen's sore ribs thought perhaps he might actually deserve this time, but that he would take time out to bully him about the Vatican's decision wasn't at all weird. And Link had become Leverrier's constant companion. It only made sense he wouldn't sit around in the infirmary any longer than the rest of them. The Bookman was there, as expected, and Lavi was not. Probably with Kanda, then.

That Leverrier was allowing Supervisor Komui to be there wasn't that odd either. Komui had probably done all he could for Kanda, and since he had already risked everything, insisting he be there for the communication of the ruling didn't seem that out of character.

Froi Tiedoll being there, however, worried him just a little bit, as did the large number of guards in the room. He raised an eyebrow.

"If you're going to do that thing to my arm again, will you let me change before instead of after this time?"

"You used to be so polite," came the inspector's dry response.

"So did you," he retorted, but subsided when Komui gave him a frown.

The supervisor was the next to speak, though. "Timcanpy," he called, and Allen felt his breast pocket wriggle. The golem extricated itself moments later, rolling down the front of his coat for a moment before his wings were fully unfurled, and then it hovered there uncertainly in front of Allen. Komui was a person the golem normally responded to, but Tim had been very leery of Leverrier since Cross's disappearance, and Allen had to clamp down on his urge to reassure the thing.

"Allen-kun, have Timcanpy play back last night's events, would you?"

Allen blinked, but no one else said a word, so he held out his palm. The golem alighted on it immediately and even without eyes gave him a look that very pointedly seemed to say, _are you sure?_ He gave the golem a little nod, and it rolled onto its back, then pointed its mouth towards the ceiling and opened its jaws wide.

Allen found himself wondering, once again, why Tim had all those teeth when none of the other golems did.

Obviously Cross had felt it was funny. Or necessary as a teaching aid. It would take more fingers and toes than there were in the entire room to count the number of times Tim had bitten him.

In the golem's defense, not hard. Usually.

Also, the teeth might have been necessary to eat. Something else no other golem seemed to do. Maybe he and Tim had been spending too much time together.

Timcanpy's playback showed them coming back into his quarters, with Nikolai taking up the space Link always had. Allen watched himself curiously. He had been a little tense last night, waiting for the results of this very meeting, and it showed. His shoulders were a bit higher than normal, and he broke the lead on his pencil so many times Nikolai had given up and handed him a pen.

After a few minutes of that, Tim flew out the open window and circled the headquarters, giving them a breathtaking view of the new structure. As always, he went to visit the last place master had been, and there was still a little blood on the outside wall, that no one could reach to clean. Again, Allen felt like hugging the little golden ball to his chest, and Komui cleared his throat.

"Tim, show us when you returned to Allen's room."

The image changed, and showed Tim sneaking back through the half-open window. He used his tail to furtively draw the glass and wood closed, and neither the lump on the bed nor the lump on the floor mattress stirred from their sleep.

The golem half-closed its mouth, narrowing the display somewhat, and tilted curiously towards Komui. The supervisor shook his head. "That's enough, Tim."

"How often does the golem leave you?" Leverrier asked sharply, as Tim closed his mouth and flapped his wings, hovering by Allen's head again. He was closer than he usually was, and Allen wasn't sure if he should chalk that up to the golem feeling threatened or the golem feeling that his beloved boy was being threatened.

"Whenever he wants," Allen answered truthfully. It should have been obvious what Tim was looking for, and he didn't want to get into another argument with Leverrier about it in front of another general.

Tiedoll already thought of him as a child, there was nothing to be gained by confirming it.

"Allen, I'll need to take Tim and analyze that footage." Komui sounded unusually serious, and Allen felt the first little prick of worry. The Vatican couldn't care less about how he and Nikolai were getting along, could it? Komui had already exhausted Tim's memory on Cross's disappearance, but even so . . . was there anything else in the golem's memory that might not be wise to let Komui find?

"I spoke with Nikolai earlier, Walker." Link's voice was harsh and hardly loud enough to be heard. Obviously still recovering from the blow Kanda had given him earlier. "There is a discrepancy."

Allen simply blinked. "What do you mean?"

"As Timcanpy showed, you and Nikolai retired to your quarters last night after dinner," Leverrier said without preamble. "You worked on documents for many hours, and then you asked him a question. What was it?"

Allen just stared at him for a moment, not understanding. "I don't-"

"Repeat for us the question you asked him."

Frowning, Allen thought back. The forms were all standard, typed up by that same lunatic at Central that stated things as confusingly as possible. "We talked . . . about nothing in particular. There was a paragraph I didn't understand, and I asked him to explain it."

"Did he?"

Oddly, Komui was leaning forward, watching him expectantly, and Allen floundered. "Of course he did."

"And what was that answer?"

"He explained the paragraph." Allen felt stupid answering such an obvious question.

"What did he say, exactly?"

Allen hesitated. "Why are you asking me this?"

Leverrier gave him a cold look. "Nikolai has no memory of the answer he gave you. He recalls that you asked him to explain the verbiage of some instructions, and next he recalls the two of you retired for the night."

That sounded about right . . . Allen glanced at Komui again, looking for the significance, but the supervisor was leaning back now, looking almost defeated. Clearly he had given the wrong answer. "So?"

"We believe a Noah used the enemy's Ark to visit headquarters last night." It was hard to tell through Link's voice how he felt about that. "Around the same time that Nikolai doesn't remember, and Timcanpy left your quarters."

Allen digested that information, ignoring the voice whispering in his mind. Seeing Tim visiting master's old quarters always brought it back. "Where? Why?"

"Kanda's quarters," Komui supplied. "It seems Kanda no longer remembers any of the time he spent as the Noah's captive."

"You don't look surprised," Link observed. "And you seemed tense last night, even Nikolai noticed. Why was that?"

Allen wondered if the annoyed lilt in Link's rough voice was jealousy or worry. "Because today was going to be the day you told me whether or not I was going to be tied up and given to the science team," Allen replied blandly. "I'm assuming from the fact that it hasn't been mentioned yet that the Vatican decided to let me remain an Exorcist."

Leverrier's expression told him as much, so Allen went on. "And you'll pardon me for saying so, but accusing me of either inviting the Noah in or wiping Kanda's memories myself seems an awfully convenient way for you to justify keeping me under tighter supervision even if the Vatican didn't tell you to."

"No one accused you of anything." Leverrier's voice was silky. "Feeling guilty, Walker?"

"You were about to, weren't you?" Allen didn't feel like sweetening his tone. "Because if you could convince the Vatican the Fourteenth had more influence over me you'd have every reason to continue demanding I leave Exorcists to die-"

"There is another explanation." It was Froi Tiedoll who interrupted him, and Allen subsided at once. He wasn't the only one in this room who felt guilty about what had happened to Kanda, after all. And this news didn't abate that guilt one moment. Just because Kanda couldn't seem to remember the experience didn't erase or undo what had happened to him. His curse was proof enough of that.

"As you are the one most attuned to the Gates the Ark creates, and the Arks are somewhat similar, it could be that the unknown Noah attacked you first to prevent you from raising an alarm. It would seem that anyone capable of taking memories from Yuu could have done the same to Nikolai and Allen himself."

"You don't remember anything, Allen? Not a sound or a feeling out of place?"

So Komui and Tiedoll were still on his side. That was comforting, at lease. "No," he admitted. "Kanda, is he okay?"

"He is under arrest for his attacks on Order personnel." It was not the answer Allen was looking for.

"Hevlaska evaluated them an hour ago. Kanda's synchronization is at ninety-two percent."

That was even higher than Hevlaska had last measured it. But then again, she had last seen him right after Edo, and it only made sense that it would have improved after the newly reforged Mugen had been given to him. They had mowed through a lot of Akuma between then and now.

"You must admit, you have continued to feel guilt for Kanda's situation," Link observed. "It might be that one of the Musician's powers would be to control mind and memory through music, as he is able to control the Ark." _And you_, he didn't add. Couldn't.

Because there was one thing Leverrier was missing, the one way master kept weaseling out of trouble, and Allen met Leverrier's gaze squarely. "Prove it."

The salt and pepper inspector's eyes narrowed, and Allen felt his narrowing to match.

"I'm tired of your half allegations. If you are accusing me of opening a Gate in Kanda's room and erasing his memories, prove it or let me go."

"I intend to," the inspector replied, tone still silken. "And when I do, Walker-"

"You won't." Komui was giving him a look that was plainly begging him to shut up, but the time to play nicely was over. "If you could you would have already. You've just seen Tim's recording, and it was your last hope, wasn't it." This was nothing more than a game of cards, the only difference was that the deck was harder to count. That didn't mean he couldn't still cheat. Allen focused on Komui. "If I've been reinstated, send me out."

The supervisor balked. "Allen-kun-"

Allen frowned at him. He didn't want to have to say this in front of Leverrier. "My eye is bothering me again." Then he glanced at Link. "When you go over Tim's footage of last night you'll see."

The inspector looked unhappy, but gave him a nod. "I will watch for it."

"Allen." Komui's voice was stronger. "I decide which Exorcists to assign missions to, and I will do so only when I am satisfied with this investigation. Bear with it a little longer," he added, slightly more gently. "I need you here."

A cold look crossed Leverrier's face. "You will remain under guard and house arrest until notified otherwise. You're dismissed."

Allen barely waited for the words before he stalked toward the door, and when Timcanpy stayed where he was, hovering there uncertainly in the center of the room, Allen felt more alone than he had since Cross's disappearance.

-x-

The guards opened the door for her smartly, revealing a darker room than she was expecting, and the rectangular light from the hall fell on a plain wooden table, illuminating a worn canvas bag.

Her stomach plummeted to the floor.

The design was unremarkable, as was the color, and the bag was open, having collapsed on the remainder of its contents. But of course it was open, and that meant some of the contents had been removed.

She knew who in the Order carried bags like that.

Harsh panting drew her attention away, to her left, to the only light source in the room. It was a storage room, as dark and perpetually humid as the rest of the cave-like understructure of the Order's new headquarters, and a lone hurricane lamp, hanging about as high as her face, served as little more than a beacon. The bottom was glass and transparent, allowing the light to seep through the oil and splatter onto him, and she took in the heavy canvas, the same weave as the bag, that was wound tightly around his wrists and ankles, binding him to the cot.

The door closed behind her as if by magic, and with only the steady flame in the lamp, she could see that the edges of the canvas around his wrists were dark.

He was not actively struggling anymore but clearly he had, to cut his wrists like that, and he did not pick up his head to see who had come in. Matron blinked repeatedly, trying to get her eyes to adjust, and something beside the bed reflected the lamplight back to her. Metal and glass. She followed it to his left arm, and found what she was looking for. A needle in the crook of his elbow.

What she had thought was an afterimage on her retina seemed to move, to her right, and the light blob manifested itself into a human shape. But then again she had expected him to be there – hadn't he summoned her 'at her earliest convenience?'

"How are they?"

She felt her lips thin, and she had to unpeel her fingers from the fists they had curled into. To think that he was allowing this to happen! "Supervisor, did Kanda consent to this procedure?" She already knew the answer, she just wanted to hear him say it.

Wanted to _make_ him say it, so that he would hear his own voice echoing in this empty room with Kanda's elevated breathing.

"He was not given an option to consent." The supervisor's voice cooled. "I ordered this. Inspectors Finn and Tasha, how are they faring?"

Kanda did not respond at all to Komui's voice, though his breathing was becoming a little less elevated, and there was no sign of the bearer of that canvas bag. Clearly they were drugging him, but he was still clothed, complete with his boots, and while he was no longer struggling, he still tested the bonds frequently but weakly. This close, she could see that his eyes were closed.

But sedating the patient didn't make sense. The bearers of those canvas bags did not watch people sleep.

"Inspector Finn will live, but I believe his paralysis is permanent." There wasn't much question; Kanda had severed the inspector's spine, quite high on his back. Though he could speak in a whisper, see and hear and comprehend, he could not move anything below his jaw, which included voluntary swallowing. The inspector would be trapped in a bed with a feeding tube down his throat for the rest of his life. "My counterpart in North America has asked that he be transferred there for an experimental nerve regeneration procedure, and Leverrier has approved it."

"How did America hear about this so quickly? Did you ask for their assistance?"

She shook her head, then wondered if he could even see it, and tucked her hands beneath her apron to hide their shaking. "No. They contacted me."

Komui hmmed softly. "And what of Tasha?"

Matron felt herself stiffening in response to his casual tone. As if nothing was wrong, as if he was not ordering something reprehensible done to one of her most dear patients. Even if Kanda was still operating under the control of the Noah, he had fought for the Order for a decade, and already given his life to them. He had fought the Noah, fought hard and suffered dearly. He deserved better than this. "His lung has been reinflated, and the bleeding stopped. Time will tell."

He mistook her disapproving tone for discouragement. "You don't expect him to survive."

"I don't expect the Head Supervisor to resort to procedures such as these on injured Exorcists!" she snapped. "Kanda Yuu is not an ordinary patient, and I should have been present from the very beginning to oversee his care-"

She broke off with an undignified squeak when the lamp was suddenly extinguished. In a moment it reappeared, none the worse for wear, and she realized it was not the flame that had gone out, but the darkness that had moved between her and it. Darkness in the shape of a man.

"Silence, woman." The accent was exotic, deep and deliberate, and she realized that the bearer of the canvas bag was indeed in the room with them. "I know my business."

"I asked you here at your earliest convenience because the care of the inspectors is a higher priority." Komui's voice had cooled again. "We waited to begin the procedure until your arrival. They are both still alive, therefore this Exorcist is still under my jurisdiction. You may begin," he added, clearly not directed at her.

Matron gripped her apron tightly, hoping the darkness hid the gesture, then stepped forward. She chose the side opposite the shadow man, finding only an unmarked glass canister delivering whatever drugs were going into Kanda's system, and he turned his face away from both her and the lamp. The movement lacked real intensity, as if he was dazed. His eyes were not only closed, she saw; he was clenching them shut.

He said nothing.

"Do not speak until I have granted permission," the accented voice came again, low and dismissive. "The woman may observe but not interfere."

"Eliza is the most talented healer in the Order. If she interferes it will be because the life of the patient is at risk." Matron was only slightly mollified to see that Komui was using the same tone with the Order's torturer.

It was not Kanda's life she feared for, but his sanity. To leave the Noah only to face the same at the hands of those he trusted was unacceptable. "Supervisor, I object-"

"I agree that Kanda's privacy is important, but I cannot place it above the safety of the entire Order." There wasn't even the slightest doubt in his voice. "We need to know what he knows."

Matron was stunned into silence. It was not the first time she had observed a procedure such as this, but it was certainly the first time since Komui Lee had gained authority within the Order. And even if it was his first, he had to know how little this would accomplish. Kanda would confess to anything, he would lie and tell them whatever they wanted to hear by the time the shadow man was done with him. Information gleaned by torture could not be trusted any more than confession by heresy trying.

"I cannot begin without silence," the shadow reminded them, without a trace of patience, and Matron swallowed her protest. Komui's mind was made up, did he somehow think this would be easier on Kanda if it was his friends, those he trusted, inflicting this agony upon him instead of total strangers?

Komui said nothing else, and Kanda did not so much as move a muscle.

The shadow heaved a short sigh, obviously in relief. "Kanda Yuu," he intoned. "Open your eyes and focus on the lamp."

The Exorcist did no such thing. If anything, he clenched his eyes even more tightly shut.

"You have been fighting my potion for some time," the shadow continued, his voice ever so slightly less chilly than it had been before. "But the dosage is correct now. There is no longer any point in resistance."

Kanda ignored him.

And a shadow hand – truly black, the skin of that hand was far darker than Marie's – carelessly jabbed a thick needle an inch into Kanda's right armpit.

Kanda's eyes shot open with surprise, his head jerking uncoordinatedly to see what had happened. He was too drugged to hold it up, however, and it fell back against a folded towel. The lamp was placed only a few feet above him, centered over his face, and in the light of the transparent bottom she could see his eyes were as black as the shadow's skin.

He had held his breath to hide any sound of pain, but now it hissed out of his chest as if a great weight had sat upon him.

"Fighting leads to discomfort. You have already discovered this. But the flame will take away the ache in your wrists. The flame will take away the pain in your arm. The flame is reaching out to warm the pain away."

The voice grew softer and more husky with each word, but not jarringly. The rhythm of his speech was also easy and the accent gave it a novel sound.

And Matron felt her eyes widen when she realized the truth. The shadow was not torturing Kanda. The shadow was hypnotizing him.

No. The shadow already had.

Kanda did not close his eyes. It looked as if he had tried, the bottom lids had squinted up a little, but the drugs were too powerful, and the lamp too enticing. It was the only point of light in the room, the only thing he could really see, diffuse and amber-colored through the oil in the hurricane lamp. He stared at it, and the restless motion of his limbs stilled. His breathing slowly evened.

And the shadow never stopped speaking. "The light has reached you. Your body is floating in it. You are warm and comfortable. There is no pain.." By now the shadow's voice had made the transition to soothing and gentle. The accent gave it a quality of trustworthiness she would not have believed was she not hearing it with her own ears. "Can you hear me, Kanda Yuu?"

He blinked, slow and languid, but he said nothing.

The shadow was not perturbed. "Your throat is warm and your jaw is relaxed. You are cradled in the flame, which will burn all that threatens you. Only my voice can reach you. Can you speak to me, Kanda Yuu?"

For a moment it appeared Kanda was still resisting, but then his lips moved. "Hai."

At first the word meant nothing to her. The shadow seemed to agree. "Can you speak in this language, Kanda Yuu?"

This time the answer was easier. "Yes."

"Are you comfortable, Kanda Yuu?"

"Yes."

The shadow paused, but Kanda did not seem put out in the slightest, staring at the flame. Now that she had been in the room some time, her vision had improved, and she saw Komui move to the other side of the bed, standing beside what appeared to be the whites of eyes and teeth floating in darkness.

"What do you wish to ask of him?" The voice stayed the same, soothing, gentle. Komui used much the same tone when he answered.

"I want to know what he remembers between Spain and this morning."

Matron stilled the protest on her tongue. While it was unacceptable that Kanda would be forced to give up his secrets in this manner, this was certainly the least unpleasant of the alternatives, and she realized that, in a way, Komui had no choice. Kanda had attacked Order personnel. He might have been after Lenalee. He might be under the spell of the Noah, though the Gatekeeper saw no pentacle on him. And if Tasha or Finn died, the situation would be too serious for Komui to keep head jurisdiction.

While Kanda might not forgive him, Komui was acting to protect him. If this questioning was performed now, there would be little need to perform it again, even if one of the inspectors died.

"Look into the flame. As you study it, you will see that it is a mirror. You can see yourself in the flame. You can see where you have been. You can see what you have done. Can you see yourself in the flame, Kanda Yuu?"

"Yes."

"Some time recently, you were in Spain. Can you see yourself in Spain, Kanda Yuu?"

"Yes."

"Were you on a mission there?"

"Yes."

"Did you encounter Akuma there?"

"Yes."

"Can you describe what you see, Kanda Yuu?"

"Yes." Matron felt herself smile at his answer, just a little. Even fully compliant, his personality was still present.

"Describe what you see, Kanda Yuu."

"Akuma."

The shadow apparently didn't know what he was digging for. Komui had not briefed him. Perhaps that was done on purpose, to ensure the integrity of the interrogation. "How many Akuma?"

"Four." Kanda's voice was effortless but oddly dead. "Three. Moyashi destroyed one."

"What is Moyashi?"

"Bean sprout."

"It's his nickname for Allen Walker," Komui supplied. She found it odd that Kanda would refer to Allen by his nickname when he was answering everything else in such a straightforward manner. He must have called Allen 'Moyashi' more often than using his real name, which was . . . oddly endearing, in a way. Considering how much the two seemed to fight.

"Who else is there with you, Kanda Yuu?"

"Krory and Link." Referring to them by their last names was also telling. Kanda was not being clinically accurate; he was carrying on a conversation.

"What are they doing?"

"Krory is eating a level two. Link is waiting for bean sprout to get kidnapped."

The shadow paused. "How did you come to fight the Akuma?"

"They attacked us."

"Is there anything special about any of them?"

Kanda seemed to consider this question. "The level three is holding back," he finally decided. "It is the only Akuma left."

Abruptly Kanda flinched on the cot, causing the metal frame to squeak, and Matron jumped and hoped the darkness hid it.

The shadow was unmoved. "What has happened now?"

Kanda's breathing was quickening, and he squirmed uncomfortably against his bonds. "The Akuma – was fast." He swallowed and shook his head from side to side, taking his eyes off the flame for the first time since they had begun, and the shadow spoke with gentle authority.

"Study the flame, Kanda Yuu. The flame will protect you, it will burn anything that harms you. You can see what is happening in the flame, but it cannot harm you. You are safe."

His eyes returned to the lamp, and slowly the teen's discomfort seemed to melt away.

"The Akuma captured you?"

"Yes." His voice was no longer tight.

"What is happening now?"

"It has my hand. It's using Mugen to fend off Krory." His voice sounded slightly affronted. "Bean sprout's going to follow us onto the Ark."

"The image on the flame has stilled now, in exactly that moment. You can enter the flame, and walk around that moment as if it is a landscape, as if it is a dream. Enter that moment, Kanda Yuu."

Kanda said nothing.

"Do you see the Gate to the Ark, Kanda Yuu?"

"Yes."

"When did you first notice it?"

"The Akuma arrived through it."

The shadow paused again, clearly in thought. "Do Akuma normally arrive in this manner?"

"No."

"So this was special."

"Yes."

"Do you know why the Akuma attacked from the Ark?"

"No."

Komui shifted. The shadow continued. "Why do you think the Akuma attacked from the Ark?"

"To kidnap bean sprout." The answer was quick. He no longer seemed to remember that Akuma had attacked to capture _him_. Which fit directly into Komui's suspicions, that that was why Kanda had regained his synchronization.

And also confirmed that something had happened to cause Kanda to forget.

"Why?"

"He carries the Fourteenth Noah." Kanda revealed this secret without a trace of hesitation. "He can control the original Ark. He is the largest threat to the Earl in the Order."

"And the Akuma captured you to lure him onto the enemy's Ark?"

"I don't know."

"Do you think that is why?"

"Yes."

"Would four Akuma be enough to defeat bean sprout?" Matron noticed that the shadow man, too, left off the article in front of 'bean sprout,' as if it was a proper name and not a regular noun. Kanda was doing that because in his native tongue, there were no articles, and he was using moyashi and bean sprout interchangeably, but she wondered if the shadow man was merely copying Kanda's style of speech or his native tongue also ignored articles. Either way it was slightly offputting.

"No."

"You say the level three Akuma was holding back. Why do you think it did?"

"To capture Link."

"Why do you think that is?"

Kanda blinked, slowly. "Link is not an Exorcist. He's the easiest target and bean sprout would die to protect him."

"But the Akuma captured you instead. Why was that?"

"I blocked the attack and misjudged."

"And so now you are the one that bean sprout is trying to save?"

Kanda didn't even frown. "Yes."

"The moment is moving forward now. What happened?"

Kanda took a long time to answer. "I angled Mugen to cut the Akuma's hand. It let go."

"And what happened to Mugen?"

"I threw it at bean sprout."

"Why did you do that?"

"He would have gotten to me in time."

"You could not use Mugen to defeat the Akuma yourself?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"The Akuma's other hand was inside my chest and my arm did not have the strength or reach to free myself or destroy it."

He said it so cavalierly, describing damage that would have permanently crippled anyone else. And he had seen so much worse in the last two months . . . her heart went out to him. The shadow backtracked. "And throwing your Innocence at bean sprout stopped him from getting to you?"

Kanda blinked. "Yes."

"Mugen is a single-edged sword. Allen would have been stabbed had he not deflected and caught it with his own Innocence." She was a little surprised an expert sent by Central would have so little knowledge of one of the few synchronized pieces of Innocence, but then again, these procedures had probably not been used on an Exorcist for fifty years. As much as he might know 'his business,' Innocence wasn't it.

The shadow seemed impressed. "So you did not want him to be caught in the Akuma's trap?"

"No."

"And you threw away your only weapon against the Akuma," the shadow observed. "What happened then, Kanda Yuu?"

Kanda hesitated. "The Akuma deepened the wound. I could not escape."

"Then what happened?"

He hesitated again, a look of vague frustration on his face. "Darkness."

The shadow stepped forward, so that more of him was in the light. Still, all she could see was the white of his eyes and his teeth when he spoke. "What kind of darkness?"

"Darkness," Kanda insisted.

"Is the darkness dangerous?"

"No." The answer was prompt.

"Is the darkness threatening?"

"No."

"Is the darkness safe?"

"Yes."

"Is the darkness comfortable?"

"Yes."

"What happens after the darkness?"

Kanda was silent a long moment. "I am awake."

"Where are you?"

"In the Order headquarters."

"What time is it?"

"Morning."

"What day is it?"

"Today."

The shadow man seemed to withdraw, and it took her a moment to realize that he had gotten Komui the answer he had asked for. Kanda had described everything he remembered between the attack in Spain and now.

Komui made the connection as well. "What do you make of that?"

"There was another before me." Though he was now speaking to Komui, the shadow never changed his sing-song tone. "These memories were replaced by the darkness he describes. Whoever took them wished him to be at peace with their loss. He would have woken calm and unafraid."

The dozen men in her infirmary would seem to contradict that statement, yet she held her tongue. Even if Kanda had woken calm, with no memory of what happened, he would have become alarmed as soon as he'd tried to move. If the changes to his body had not been enough, the sight of the tattoo on his chest would have sealed it.

And it saddened her that his immediate reaction was to attack his guard with lethal intent, instead of asking them what had happened. That the Order had trained him to respond that way, that it was safer to kill first than risk being attacked himself.

"But there was no point in hiding what they had done, it wasn't like we wouldn't notice," Komui murmured aloud. "Is the process reversible?"

"I do not know," the shadow replied. "Would you like me to attempt a reversal?"

To his credit, Komui hesitated. "Is it something you can determine the feasibility of without actually accomplishing?"

White teeth flashed at her from across the cot, a wide smile. "No. They are one and the same."

"I thought not." There was a bit of a rueful smile in Komui's voice. "Please proceed."

"Supervisor-"

"I am well aware that restoring Kanda's memory may reduce his synchronization, Matron." It wasn't the reason she had in mind, but he gave her no time to correct him. "But the safety of this headquarters is paramount."

"You saw the condition he was in when he came back to us." She kept her voice soft. "His physical state notwithstanding, what do you think experiencing it all over again will do to him? Physical damage the curse can heal, but not his mind!"

"The restoration is reversible," the shadow murmured, and she was certain if not for the need to hold Kanda in hypnosis he would have hissed it at her. "Should it break his mind I can make him forget once again."

"We understand the risks. Please proceed," Komui repeated, and when she took a breath to protest once more, she saw Komui's hand, palm towards her, beneath the lamp. "Your protest is noted, Matron."

A human's mind was not some plaything, to manipulate at will. If the first tampering was reversible, who was to say that the last would not be? That one day Kanda would simply remember it all?

"Return to the flame, Kanda Yuu. Return to Spain. The moment that you were taken through the enemy's Ark, it is frozen there. You can enter that moment as if it is a landscape, as if it is a dream. Enter that moment, Kanda Yuu."

Kanda had tolerated their argument with silence and this did not change. He stared at the lamp, blinking only occasionally.

"Now let the moment move forward. What do you see?"

He hesitated. "Darkness."

"What was before the darkness?"

"The Akuma."

"There is something between them. You feel an uneasiness there, do you not, Kanda Yuu?"

The Exorcist frowned softly. "I don't know."

The shadow was quiet for a long moment. "Step out of the moment, Kanda Yuu. You are now outside of the flame. You are floating on its light. You are comfortable and warm." The shadow waited a moment for Kanda to adjust. "Close your eyes."

The dark eyes slipped closed, but otherwise nothing happened.

"The flame is there, all around you. If you open your eyes, the flame will engulf you. It will burn away all that threatens you. Do you understand, Kanda Yuu?"

"Yes."

"If at any time you are threatened or there is pain, open your eyes and study the flame, and you will be safe. Open your eyes."

Kanda obeyed.

"Now close your eyes, Kanda Yuu. You can see the darkness now, can't you."

"Yes."

"Is the darkness threatening?"

"No."

"Is the darkness calming?"

"Yes."

"Go to that place where the darkness began."

Kanda's eyebrows knit together, and his lips turned down again into the frown. It occurred to her that the only time Kanda's expression had changed had been when he had been asked to remember the beginning of what he remembered as darkness.

"Describe what you see."

". . . darkness." But the tone was uncertain.

"There is more, Kanda Yuu. Study it more closely."

His head twitched to the right, just a little, and he pulled at his right arm. His left remained still, the needle undisturbed.

"What do you see, Kanda Yuu?"

"Darkness."

"What do you feel, Kanda Yuu?"

He took a quick breath, and his legs pulled restlessly at the canvas. ". . . wrong."

"What feels wrong, Kanda Yuu?"

He shook his head.

"What is there between the Akuma and the darkness, Kanda Yuu?"

It took him a long time to answer. "Nothing." Yet his restlessness remained.

"What do you hear, Kanda Yuu?"

"Nothing."

"But there is sound there. There is a voice there."

He sucked in a quick breath, almost a gasp, then turned his face away from the shadow man. "No voice."

"There is pain there," the shadow insisted. "You can feel it, can't you, Kanda Yuu?"

"I . . . I don't know-"

"You are uneasy. The moment you are seeking is turned sideways, so that it appears as a thin line, darker than the darkness. It is the wrongness. Do you see it?"

" . . . I . . ."

"Reach out with your hands, Kanda Yuu, and touch the edge of that moment. You feel it, don't you?"

Kanda squirmed against his bonds.

"Turn it towards you. What do you see, Kanda Yuu?"

". . . I . . . there is darkness . . ."

The shadow subsided for a moment, then changed tactics. "What kind of darkness?"

". . . no light." Kanda's voice dropped in volume. "Cold."

"And it is quiet? There is no voice?"

"No voice."

"The moment is moving backwards, to before the darkness. What do you see?"

Kanda said nothing, but his unease grew, as did his physical movement. His left arm, made heavy by the drugs, twitched towards his body. "I see red . . . and stars."

"And what do you see before the stars, Kanda Yuu?"

He exhaled in a hiss, pressing the back of his head into the towel in such a classic avoidance gesture that she very nearly spoke. Clearly he didn't want to remember, clearly it was unpleasant-

Abruptly Kanda _screamed._

The sound was deafening in the relative quiet of the room, and it was accompanied by a full-body convulsion that arched his back so powerfully only Kanda's skull, wrists, and heels were still in contact with the cot. Matron jumped despite herself and didn't realize she had raised a hand to her mouth until she felt it trembling against her lips.

She had never heard Kanda make that sound. It was unearthly, full of agony and panic, and Kanda scrabbled frantically against his bonds and the cot, eyes screwed shut with the force of his cries. They did not taper off, strangled by his position but still loud and desperate, and they rose in pitch until his voice cracked.

The shadow was speaking but he could not be heard, and she saw darkness snake over Kanda's face. Fingers pinched his nose shut and covered his mouth, trying to force his jaw closed.

"Open your eyes, Kanda Yuu-"

While the shadow man had stifled the cries somewhat, Kanda did not open his eyes. He flung his head from side to side, half-muffled cries too close to urgent whimpers, and continued to writhe against his bonds. The cot was squealing in protest, and blood began to run down his left arm from the partially dislodged needle.

The shadow man's hands were large and powerful and with impossible strength he was able to force Kanda's jaw shut. He sealed it with a great palm, pinching Kanda's nose closed with the same hand and freeing up his other to pry open Kanda's eyelids with a large thumb and forefinger. Kanda's face was dwarfed by those hands, stark white against them, and there was hardly any color showing when those skillful fingers exposed his eyeballs.

"Study the flame, Kanda Yuu-"

He could no longer scream – he could no longer _breathe_ but in tiny gasps from the corners of his lips – and after three or four repetitions from the shadow his eyes relaxed slightly, rolling down from his skull. As soon as Kanda saw the lamp again more of his iris and pupil became visible, and his struggles became slightly less violent.

"The flame surrounds you. It warms you. There is no pain. You are comfortable. The flame is burning away all that threatens you. You are safe in its embrace, Kanda Yuu."

The shadow released his nose and Kanda gasped through it, but he did not relax as he had before. He flinched, hard, then again, and worse, his eyes closed. A muffled cry rose from this throat, as full of pain and panic as before.

"The flame contains the moment now. It is no longer yours. You stand outside of that moment entirely." These words were new, stronger. The previous distancing technique the shadow man had used on Kanda was no longer having the same effect. "You are watching a moving picture, and that is all. You are an invisible observer. Nothing in that moment can see you. Nothing in that moment can touch you. The flame will keep you safe, Kanda Yuu. Study the flame."

Matron did not relax until Kanda opened his eyes again, seeking out the lamp, and the shadow let him go. His struggles had worked the needle free and part of her longed to place her thumb over the wound until the bleeding stopped. The rest of her hoped the shadow would not notice, and Kanda's curse would end this. Neither happened. The shadow moved around the bed rather than reaching over and risking blocking Kanda's view of the light, and Matron stepped back reluctantly as the needle was skillfully replaced.

Kanda's breath caught.

"There is no pain," the shadow soothed. "You are warm and comfortable. The moment is within the flame, and you are merely an observer. The flame will burn away all that threatens you."

It took several more repetitions before Kanda's unease seemed to fully leave him, but he was still shaking like a leaf and his breathing was still elevated from his struggles when the shadow felt it safe to begin asking questions again.

"What do you see, Kanda Yuu?"

"Me."

"You do not. You are outside the moment. The person who looks like you, let us call him the Exorcist."

Kanda said nothing, but more tension seemed to leave his frame at the concept that whatever he was seeing had happened to someone else. Oddly, the shadow took a cleansing breath, as if he had not dared to breathe properly in some time.

"You see the Exorcist."

"Yes."

"Is there anyone there with him?"

"Yes."

"Please describe all those you see, Kanda Yuu."

Though his face had relaxed, his brow was still furrowed, as if he was squinting. "There is a young girl standing over the Exorcist. A Noah."

Rhode Camelot was the only Noah she knew of that fit that description. The things she had done to General Yeegar . . . Matron had to resist covering her mouth again, and it was hard not to make any sound at all.

"What is the Noah doing?"

He jumped, or perhaps flinched. "She is taking things."

The shadow seemed unperturbed by such an ominous statement. "Why do you think she is doing that?"

"She wants to see him cry."

"Does she say why?"

Kanda hesitated. "He disobeyed Father."

Matron couldn't help herself; she glanced at Komui. He had moved close enough to the cot during Kanda's struggles that he was readily visible, his face almost as pale as his beret. He never took his eyes off Kanda, and without his interruption, the shadow continued.

"Who is Father?"

"I don't know."

"What is the Noah's name?"

"I don't . . . " He trailed off. "Road."

Rhode.

"Take the moment back to its very beginning. Can you do that, Kanda Yuu?"

A pause. "Yes."

"Tell me what you see."

Again the squinting. "The Exorcist . . . he is bound. She is putting a white wig on his head."

A white wig?

"Then what happens?"

Again, Kanda flinched. "She . . . she is using a candle . . ." He frowned. "Master says the Exorcist betrayed him. He is leaving him there as her toy."

"Who is Master?"

"General Tiedoll."

The disconnect didn't faze the shadow man at all. "When did General Tiedoll arrive?"

"He . . ." Kanda turned his head aside, as if cringing from something too close to his face. "He is not really there. It is a nightmare."

"Does the Exorcist know he is not really there?"

" . . . I don't know."

"Do you think the Exorcist knows that he is not really there?"

"I don't know."

"What is happening now?"

"I . . . she says he should have obeyed her." Kanda winced. "She says the Exorcist should never disobey her father or the Noah."

"Does she say who her father is?"

Kanda paused. "No."

"What is she doing now?"

"She has destroyed the Exorcist's right leg below the knee."

"How did she do this?"

"She used a candle."

The shadow hesitated. "She burned it away?"

"The candle was sharp. The Exorcist . . . he can't move fast enough without it." Abruptly Kanda's voice became hard. "No. That is another nightmare."

"So she has taken his leg in the nightmare?"

"No." Kanda flinched again. "She is taking his limbs."

"Can you tell the difference between the nightmares and the memory, Kanda Yuu?"

". . . I think so." He twitched again, and Matron glanced again at Komui, this time questioningly.

The shadow either noticed or was out of questions. "What do you wish to know?"

"Father's proper name," Komui replied. "I suspect it's the Earl, but Kanda told us he obeyed him . . . is there any way to take him back before this?"

The shadow seemed to consider the question. "No. The one that came before me has replaced all of his memories of the time between Spain and today."

"Except this one."

"No." The shadow's teeth were visible again. "This is not a memory. It is much deeper. It cannot be fully separated from his mind."

Matron opened her mouth, to ask him what that meant, _exactly_, but Komui was miles ahead of her. "Is it possible it was placed there after the memories were replaced, or left on purpose?"

"No." The shadow's voice was still soft, still holding Kanda enthralled. "It was buried as deeply as it could be in his subconscious. The one who came before me did his best to destroy it, but it remained."

Kanda flinched hard on the cot, clearly still watching the memory – or whatever it was – and the shadow hmmed quietly.

"What is the girl doing now, Kanda Yuu?"

"She is taking his people."

"Is she doing this in the nightmares or the memory?"

"They are blurring," Kanda admitted. "The Exorcist cannot tell anymore if the pain is real or dreamt."

"Is she still speaking to him?"

"Yes."

"What is she saying?"

"She is berating him for not playing."

"Why do you think he is refusing to obey her?"

Kanda was silent for a long moment. "There is nothing left to cry for."

It was almost as if Kanda was sympathizing with the figure he was watching, and Matron squashed the desire to run her hand over his forehead and comfort him. She couldn't tell if it was real or all a nightmare given to him by the Noah, but either way, to relive it like this-

"What has she taken?"

"Everything." His voice was oddly soft. "She has taken his purpose. She has taken his Innocence and his curse. His limbs, his eyes, his ears, and his tongue are gone. What she has not taken she has ruined."

"She has taken these things from him in the nightmare?"

". . . no." Kanda flinched again, quite hard this time, and took a shaky breath.

If that had happened to him, actually happened to him . . . but it couldn't have. She consoled herself with that fact. Kanda's curse was astonishing, it could restore an organ that had been crushed or even half-removed, but it could not regrow them. There was simply no way the curse could restore something that had been fully removed, such as an arm or an eye.

"What has happened now, Kanda Yuu?"

". . . she has taken his life." It was hollow.

"What do you see now?"

He blinked, squinting again at the lamp. "She is looking at me."

"She is looking at the Exorcist," the shadow corrected.

"She is looking at me," Kanda repeated. "She is looking through the flame. She can see me. She is smiling at me."

Strangely, this did not seem to frighten him. He did not start shaking, nor did he flinch. He lay there calmly and stared at the lamp, and the shadow leaned closer.

"Does she speak to you?"

"Yes."

"What does she say?"

"She says she hopes we can play together very soon."

Komui sucked in a quick breath, but he said nothing. The shadow gave him ample time, then turned back to Kanda.

"What do you see now?"

"Darkness."

"What is beyond that darkness?"

Kanda blinked slowly at the lamp. "Morning."

The shadow stepped back, or at least she assumed he did because the whites of his eyes faded into the darkness of the room. Kanda was calm again, his trembling had ceased, and he languidly studied the lamp.

She was significantly less calm than he was.

"Supervisor," she breathed. "He was harmed, greatly harmed, but that . . . I do not believe he could have survived it." It must have been a combination of nightmares and torture, and the line became blurred.

"There is nothing else he can remember?"

The shadow's hands came down around Kanda's bound right forearm. He did not react at all.

"No. There was no other sign of repressed memories."

"Then we have learned all we can." It sounded unnaturally casual. "Erase it."

Matron blinked. "Supervisor-"

"I cannot." The shadow spoke as if she had not. "What he recalls is not a memory. I can bury it as deeply in his subconscious as it was before, but I cannot replace it."

"But if it's repressed . . . can't someone bring it to the front of his mind again?"

"Yes." The shadow sounded slightly pleased. "This Exorcist is Asian, and presumably practices meditation. It is one of the reasons he is a good candidate for hypnosis; meditation is self-hypnosis. It is also presumably the reason he was able to resist me for as long as he did. I cannot bury this dream so far into his subconscious that he could not retrieve it if he so chose."

"He won't." Komui sounded certain. "Bury it as deeply as you can."

There was a pause. "Do you want him to recall that this procedure occurred?"

Matron watched Komui, even in the dim, knowing that he could see her eyes. He responded by backing further from the lamp – and Kanda.

"Let him remember everything he would normally remember." Komui turned and began to walk across the room. "Knowing will matter less to him than our taking it away would."

-x-

**Author's Notes**: So here we have a continuation of the CIM chapters, and more clues regarding what has happened to Kanda. And a glimpse of what Rhode did to Kanda, though I fear it was not detailed enough for some of you. I have no idea if next chapter will be the last, but I haven't gotten to my favorite mental scene yet, so I suspect there will be a couple more.


	24. Chapter 17 CIM: Relationships

Disclaimer in previous chapters. Please see Author's Notes at the end.

**NOTE**: This is a **CIM** (Curse is Magical) chapter. **CIM** supposes a curse can restore beyond what is capable by the human body. Please note that **CIM** and **CIP** chapters **shared some content****.** They simply moved in different directions.

-x-

The guards moved forward as if to assist, and she released the handles of the chair, stopping them with her gaze alone.

"We will take things from here."

Her staff were nearly all women; it put the female patients more at ease and the men, most of whom had an European upbringing, were accustomed to women nurses. In the case of the Exorcists, usually when they needed her services they were too injured or ill to care. Still, when Order personnel would change, Matron would have to remind the male members of the staff that women were just as competent as men. Her staff could and had handled far worse than one unconscious Exorcist.

Her nurses therefore ignored the guards' silent offer of labor entirely, peeling off the heavy black coat that had been draped over him during his hurried journey through the back halls. He was oblivious as his arms were grabbed beneath his armpits, and his legs behind the knees, and it only took Lydia and Angelita to lift him and transfer him from the wheelchair to the bed. Matron immediately withdrew with the chair, further chasing Leverrier's guards from the area, and she had to hide an approving sort of expression when she heard the curtains pulled, hiding Kanda Yuu from view.

Which was exactly what she had been ordered to do. Keep him out of sight. And as he was clearly the victim of an attack last night, she would have little trouble justifying keeping him as a patient rather than a prisoner.

"You may stand guard outside," she offered, parking the chair in its designated spot. Then she turned her back on them and ducked around the curtain, returning to the task at hand. Which was a relatively simple one. All she had to do was convince Kanda to rest and remain calm. Most of that work had been done for her, at least for the next several hours.

The shadow had made sure of that.

Taking advantage of his lack of protest, Lydia and Angelita had made quick work of him. His boots had already been removed and Angelita was in the process of getting the heavy uniform trousers off of him, but Matron didn't see any need to fully change him. Though he was sleeping deeply, in an hour or two he would wake rested and refreshed, and likely would have company. He would feel less vulnerable in his uniform. "Leave his shirt. I expect him to wake soon."

The women nodded, unbuttoning the collar just for his comfort, and they pulled a light sheet over him gently. Lydia folded his socks and stuffed them into one of his boots, which she put beside the bed, and Angelita hung his trousers over the back of the nearby chair, so he could easily grab them when he woke.

He never so much as twitched throughout the process, not even when Matron adjusted his head on the pillow and stroked his brow for a moment. His hair was soft and silky beneath her fingers, shorter even than Lenalee's when she'd returned from her harrowing experience on the Ark, and she had to resist the urge to run her hand through it.

He would not appreciate the gesture. "We'll leave him to sleep, dears."

"Oh," Angelita gasped in surprise, as she pulled back the curtain, and Matron readied her sharpest reprimand. If the guards had not taken her hint to leave she was liable to box their ears, personnel or not-

But it was a shadow that stood behind the curtain.

This one was more chocolate than darkness, just as tall without seeming as imposing. He ducked his head in a quick acknowledgement, but it was clear he was concerned and mostly focused on the young man sleeping behind her.

"Come in, Marie," she murmured, stepping aside and holding the curtain open in invitation. "You may stay with him so long as you do not wake him." As if Marie could, at this point.

The nurses dispersed to other duties and Marie took Matron's invitation, taking the chair as if he could actually see it. He sat on the edge so as not to lean on Kanda's trousers, and she wondered how much, exactly, he had heard in the last hour.

"Thank you for your hard work," he murmured suddenly, as if it had just occurred to him that he had not yet spoken. "I will be sure not to disturb his rest." Then he hesitated, his gaze dropping downward, and Matron cocked her head to the side, giving him all the time he needed. He was certain to be full of questions, and near as she could tell she was not forbidden from answering any of them.

Komui had fled before he'd thought to muzzle her.

"Is my presence going to cause you any trouble?"

"Of course not." Heavens, he almost sounded like Miranda. "You are welcome to stay here until I have discharged him."

"Do you know when that will be?"

It would depend a good deal on how he responded when he woke, and how Komui decided to handle the situation. Still, there was no reason to prevent him from being visited by the other Exorcists. There would have to be a formal announcement made regarding the attack on him last night, and investigations performed to ensure that Kanda was the only one targeted. Kanda's house arrest was as much for his safety as it was for anything more.

"Not yet." It was an unsatisfactory answer, but it would worry Marie the least. "Please let me know when he wakes."

Marie nodded, then looked suddenly stricken, but he said nothing else, and she gave him a smile she hoped he could hear before she stepped out and drew the curtain once more. The guards had taken her instruction and were standing at the door, heads bowed in conversation, and Angelita was frowning at them.

"They're refusing to stand outside," she said without preamble, loudly enough for them to hear. "They say it will give away the patient's location."

She would almost prefer they did. To think that poor Froi Tiedoll might at this moment fear his apprentice was in a cell somewhere – but Marie would have told him when he figured it out.

"Very well." It wasn't the first time, and at least she'd gotten them out of Kanda's line of sight. "Please see to the linens, Angelita."

She turned her attention from the guards to her other patient – similarly protected from sight by curtains – and parted the fabric surrounding Inspector Tasha. Lydia would have told her if anything had changed, but she was still disappointed to see his color had not improved even with the transfusion.

She checked his respiration, pulse, and blood pressure, finding them all relatively unchanged and all far below satisfactory, and watched the struggling Crow until a familiar voice interrupted her thoughts.

-x-

"So there can be no doubt?"

Howard Link tried very hard not to look up at the man his master was addressing; it pulled his throat and made him want to clear it incessantly. There were few brotherhoods in the Order more exclusive and secretive than the Crow, however, and it was hard to contain his curiosity. The tall African held his plain canvas bag with a careless reverence, the same as he had seen Exorcists exhibit with their Innocence, and he could not help but wonder what it held that was so precious.

"None," the Nigerian rumbled, his voice as deep as the color of his skin. He must have been from a tribe near the equator; Link had never seen anyone with such dark skin. It seemed the 'cradle of life' was more like an oven than anything else.

They were standing in the middle of the HQ lobby, just in front of the Gate that Allen had created there, and though the Nigerian's voice was low, it echoed into all corners of the stone cylinder. He did not seem to notice.

"In your professional opinion, what could have caused such a selective loss of memory?"

One thing Link had noticed early on was how infrequently the man blinked. He absorbed them all without staring, yet at the same time there was never a moment he could look the man in the face and not have those eyes boring into his. "One talented in manipulation of the mind could have left a suggestion, that could have been triggered when the Exorcist made a certain decision or performed a certain task. It could also have been triggered by a certain phrase."

"Does the Exorcist exhibit symptoms of such a suggestion?"

A flash of teeth, as white as the lips were black. "There are no symptoms of such a suggestion to exhibit. Properly implanted suggestions are impossible to find unless one knows exactly where to look, and only prior to the triggering event."

"You seem to be an expert on the subject," Leverrier observed smoothly, and Link sharpened his attention. The Nigerian seemed to do exactly the opposite, losing interest in the conversation and turning his attention to the Gate.

"I have received training in hypnosis, as have all of my brethren," he said dismissively. "My opinion is rendered."

That the report would remain verbal only did not seem to bother the senior inspector so Link said nothing, mirroring Leverrier's bow to the Nigerian, then turning on his heels at a jerk of Leverrier's chin and walking with him as they left the interrogator at the Gate. Komui Lee did not follow them.

He would perform their niceties, as a gesture to the inspector, but it hardly mattered at this point. Near as Link could tell, Leverrier hadn't baked anything since he had been released from the infirmary after the recovery of Kanda Yuu, and that was not a positive sign for the Order supervisor.

"It would seem your suspicions were correct," his superior inspector murmured, and Link bobbed his head in gratitude for the compliment, then turned and looked as far over his shoulder as his throat would allow. Komui was not smiling as he saw the Nigerian off, but he seemed aware enough of tribal customs, grasping the giant man's forearm and having his own effortlessly engulfed in what seemed a very meaningful farewell. Link left his eyes on the supervisor as the Nigerian departed through the Gate, but Komui still did not turn their way, heading instead towards the stairs for his offices. He did not notice General Tiedoll, standing by the second floor railing, watching him exactly as Link himself was.

It was strange that Komui would not use this time to drive home his point. Perhaps he felt he did not need to. It was quite obvious the Nigerian had confirmed Komui's own theory when he had confirmed the loss of the memories.

Just because an Exorcist forgot about betrayal did not mean the Innocence would. It would seem Mugen had indeed responded to changes in the way Kanda felt and behaved, rather than the actions he had taken while remaining the Noah's captive.

In which case, Link could understand why Komui might feel honest gratitude toward the Order's interrogator, despite his vehement disagreement with the techniques used to acquire the information.

"Still, though, I wonder." Leverrier led them to his front room, and Link stepped in front of him, smoothly opening the door. He closed it quietly behind them, moving towards the tea cart before the other inspector waved him off, wandering over to the window and clasping his hands behind his back. Pensive, then. Link waited by the sofa but he did not sit.

Unless he was very much mistaken, he was about to receive a mission.

"If it would have only taken a phrase, why did the attacker spend so much time in the Exorcist's room?" The man's head cocked, his impeccable hair catching the early spring light. "Inspector Finn said twenty minutes, did he not?"

Twenty minutes and no overheard voices. "Perhaps the Noah spent that time reading the report." After all, what was written on one page could have just as easily been mentioned again on another.

"Perhaps," Leverrier allowed. "Though I wonder if it was merely a Skull or Akuma. It seems I must accept the possibility that an enemy penetrated our headquarters, but one that did so little damage . . ." The head turned further, catching Link in the corner of an eye. "Was Komui's team able to find evidence of any signals transmitted last night?"

Their reports on such things were frightfully disorganized, though Link wasn't sure Leverrier wanted to hear that sort of excuse. "I will continue having Bridgette monitor them, but as of her last report, there were none detected."

It was easy to guess what he was thinking; if it was a decision that Kanda Yuu had made that would have triggered the suggestion, it was possible Kanda had divulged the Noah's name and then sent the Noah a message telling him so. But there was no evidence of such a thing. It could very well be that Kanda Yuu's suspicion of his Noah master being clairvoyant, at least to an extent, was accurate.

Leverrier said nothing further, continuing the study the glass, and Link hesitated. "If you will forgive the observation, you seem unusually distrustful of an otherwise proven Exorcist. You have been since it was determined he was captured. Was he previously under suspicion for treason?"

The other inspector chuckled, low in his throat. "A proven Exorcist. Your choice of words is as perceptive as usual. You are feeling better, then?"

The change of subject was not unheard of, but more obvious than most, and Link let it go. "I am fine." Though it brought another troubling thought forward, and he decided to press his luck. "I would ask the same of you."

The man turned with a tiny, almost indulgent smile. "Do I seem ill to you?"

Generally, Malcolm C. Leverrier was a very straightforward person. He might not answer a question directly with his words, but his intention would be clear. If he had wished to stop the conversation, he would have changed the subject. He had not. Thus, the inquiry was more of a request for him to share his observations of his superior with him, and Link was reluctant to do so.

"I cannot help but notice the change in your behavior since we returned. You have not been baking, recently, save the croissants you sent to me while I was injured." Any way he could work a reminder of his current state of not-really-injured, he would. "I also overheard mention of your striking Kanda during your initial questioning, when I have never personally witnessed you interacting physically with any of those you have investigated. If my conduct during the ill-planned rescue of Kanda Yuu has caused you difficulty with the higher-ups, I sincerely apologize."

The senior inspector gave him a long, thoughtful look. "You have not disappointed me." It was quiet. "I am surprised you do not know, but perhaps that is for the best. What you do not know you cannot reveal."

Link was silent, waiting patiently for his superior to work out his thoughts.

"There are different types of Exorcists. I know you are familiar with the most recent project." Link tried not to think about how much more familiar Inspector Finn was likely becoming with it at this very moment. "Its success can be attributed in great part to your acquisition of a fragment of the Akuma egg. Yet just as much of its success is based on prior research." Leverrier turned back to the window. "Kanda Yuu has been a loyal Exorcist for almost a decade. Pray that he remains exactly that."

That heavily insinuated that Kanda Yuu was involved with a prior project to 'create' Exorcists, and might have something to do with the fact that he was cursed. And insufferable. Loyal was a good word to use, in that he fit the definition, but not because he had any love for the Order, any true hatred for Akuma, or any burning devotion for God. He wasn't even a Christian.

Yet he fought for the Order, and had died several times over in the past two months to protect it. Perhaps it was that motivation that Leverrier was calling into question, or rather warning him to watch.

And he would only be warning him to watch Kanda Yuu if he intended to redeploy him in some capacity with the Exorcists. Link tried to hide his relief.

"So I am reassigned to Allen Walker despite my failure."

"Make no mistake, I shall not look kindly upon you should he manage to escape you again." Now the tone was hard, and cold, and business-like. "But Walker and his colleagues will be overly suspicious of any new inspector I assign. If he was indeed the one, or if the Fourteenth acted without his conscious knowledge, you are more likely to see the signs than someone unfamiliar with the boy." Leverrier's chin dropped slightly, meaning he was contemplating something he found disagreeable. "There is always the chance that Kanda Yuu's late-night visitor was not sent by the Earl."

That he had added the comment _after_ voicing his suspicions, that Walker had something to do with Kanda's convenient memory loss, meant that he was considering a third party, and Link blinked, a little nonplussed. Finn and Tasha had reported the Gate opening –

No. They had reported the signs of a _portal_ opening. Not necessarily the Ark. Magic could create a hole in a wall just as easily as a Gate. And there was only one rogue magician he could think of, though his connection to the Earl was fuzzy at best. "You think perhaps Cross Marian . . . ?"

The elder inspector chuckled. "He made a promise to the Fourteenth, and much as Cross Marian is a scoundrel and a liar, he has a code. Protecting the Exorcists closest to Walker increases the chances that he'll live long enough to succumb to the Fourteenth."

That possibility seemed a bit slimmer than the others, but it still bore consideration. After all, something had caused Timcanpy to leave Allen's side that night and look for Cross. Link inclined his head in a small bow. "I shall continue to watch for him."

"Your assignment shall begin tomorrow. Rest until then."

Link bowed again, then hesitated. "What of Komui?"

A snort. "Allowing one of the Order's interrogators to question Kanda was a move of desperation. It will not be sufficient to convince the board members, they have already seen that he is too close to the Exorcists to effectively manage them. They are one of the Order's most valuable resources, and mistakes such as the ones that have been made recently will not be overlooked."

Link digested that. "I must admit I was surprised by the speed with which the Nigerian completed his evaluation."

Leverrier turned, leaning against the windowsill and giving Link another small smile. "The Nigerian is a most efficient interrogator."

"Has Komui used him in the past?"

At this his superior looked surprised. "Not that I am aware of. Why do you ask?"

That Komui would know proper African customs was perhaps not enough reason to suspect that they were acquainted. "I am surprised he would call specifically for someone so formidable. I would have expected him to continue trying to shelter Kanda."

"He did not call for the Nigerian," was Leverrier's response, and Link simply bowed.

-x-

"-needed to be reassigned days ago. Are you even listening to me?"

Komui Lee stared at the document in his hand a moment, then frowned. "Bridget," he called, almost directly through Reever's chest, "I said the latest version, not the document two revisions ago."

The quick, purposeful click of heels snapped across the room, not covering Reever's irritated sigh, and Bridget Faye came into view, snatching the document away from him. "As if you'd know a revision if it bit you," she growled, and stared at it a moment, narrow-eyed. Then she frowned. "So you do read these," she finally said. "I'll look again."

"I'd prefer you do it right the first time," Komui admonished mildly. "It's not often I actually ask you to complete a task for me. I was expecting accuracy."

Her snort was the only response, and Komui continued to ignore the restless scientist in front of him, opening the next folder and studying the document inside.

"Supervisor, I need those resources reassigned-"

"That project's not going anywhere," he said dismissively, flipping the page. "It can wait a few more days."

When he offered no other statement to the request Reever stormed out, mumbling under his breath, and Komui let his eyes stop passing over the lines of text. He wasn't reading them anyway. These were the documents he'd asked Bridget to pull, and despite his comment to her he was sure most of them were correct. He signed it quickly, dating the pages and waving them to help the ink dry.

It was only when he held them up to the light that he saw his office was not empty after all.

The last time Tiedoll had ventured down into the science department, Komui had feared for his life. His instincts had told him that someone was there before the general had said a word. This time, though, there was nothing. No chill. No dropping of his stomach. The general's expression was inscrutable, and Komui's body and mind simply accepted the fact that he probably wasn't going to be physically capable of signing the rest of the documents by the time the general left.

So despite the fact that Froi had seen him notice, Komui ignored him, and put the document back in its folder. Then he moved on to the next one.

Tiedoll's patience expired. "Was it worth it?"

Komui forced his eyes to travel the title of the next document, but not a single character made sense, and he gave up and laid the piece of paper gently on his desk. Then he stood, pushing his glasses a bit higher on his nose.

". . . yes."

The general, for his part, stood only a few yards from the desk, and his voice was inflectionless. "Marie overheard Kanda's new guards, placing wagers on what technique the Nigerian used to make Yuu scream as he did. Would you care to indicate which of them was correct?"

It was likely Reever was going to be angry for quite some time, and efficient Ms. Faye would pull some other documents while she was back in the file room. "Hypnosis," he announced, and then he reached into his breast pocket and pulled out a small black book.

Tiedoll didn't move. "In my experience, hypnosis is a calm and painless procedure."

Komui turned and led the way to the back room, and though he heard no footsteps behind him, he knew the general was following. "The hypnosis wasn't painful. The results were."

His fingers knew the combination well, enough to type it out and mask the numbers from Tiedoll, and the second set of doors slipped open, revealing the secret room. Komui caught the leading edge as it slid open, holding it for the general. The first flash of something other than tight control flickered in the general's eyes, mostly hidden behind his glasses just as Komui hoped his were. He ignored it, turning now to the wall of butcher paper and his timeline.

"He didn't lie to us this morning. Consciously he remembers nothing." Komui flipped open the book, then gestured at the timeline. "February 13th never made sense to me. He lost a petal that day, and the days following saw intense resonation from the hourglass itself. Yet in his testimony he mentioned nothing that would explain it. He said that he disobeyed Rhode and his master was angry and punished him, but he didn't indicate that the punishment was any more severe than anything that came before."

And obviously he couldn't ask about it without arousing Leverrier's suspicions. The inspectors had failed to realize the significance of the one decoration in Kanda's room, and while it wasn't much, it was really the only facet of all of this that had gone according to plan and he would take what he could get.

As before, the general said nothing, and Komui filled up the silence. "This morning Kanda told us he doesn't remember anything after Spain. The one who visited him last night did his or her level best to ensure that was the truth, but they missed something, or rather, came across something that they couldn't remove."

Komui picked up a thick marker, and briefly debated how much information to share. If Tiedoll had a name, someone other than this elusive 'master' to blame . . . but surely Froi had already guessed. "It seems Rhode gave him a dream."

The only sound was the marker, squeaking slightly on the paper, and Komui wrote the comment neatly and capped the pen. He nearly dropped it in shock when Tiedoll finally spoke.

"And will he remember this dream when he wakes?"

"No." He didn't have the courage to turn and face the man, so he stared at the timeline, at the green bracket that marked the time that the lotus and hourglass seemed to be under attack or duress. "Not unless he goes looking for it. I asked the Nigerian to bury it, but he could not remove it any more than the one that came before him."

"I wasn't aware that you were so familiar with the Order's interrogators. Or is it just the Nigerian?" Tiedoll's tone gave nothing away, and Komui weighed his words again. The general was, above all else, not the oblivious, kindly idiot he seemed.

"My quick promotion through the Order attracted attention. I met him just prior to becoming head supervisor." The green brackets winked at him, and he crossed his arms thoughtfully, still holding onto his little black book. "He did not divulge this information to Leverrier. As far as the Order is concerned, Kanda remembers nothing."

There was finally some noise behind him, the shifting of fabric. Komui did not dare turn around.

"Did he remember the details of the dream?"

"As much as we asked." Which was saying something in of itself. "He had difficulty telling dream from reality, but he said that Rhode used her candles to 'take him apart.' From his description it sounds like she tore him limb from limb." Strangely, Tiedoll had no immediate response to this, so Komui continued. "It was Matron's opinion that he could not have survived the damage he described, even with the curse, without permanent injuries."

The green brackets winked at the previous set, and he looked at his notes once again, searching for some correlation now that he had this new information. He shouldn't have eyes, shouldn't have a tongue. They were complex organs tied to nerves that would never heal on a normal human, not even if they were surgically re-attached to their blood vessels. In fact, he wasn't sure how an eyeball could be extracted from a skull intact unless the eyesocket was fractured-

"Maybe they weren't trying to lift the curse," he mused aloud. "Kanda was useless to them dead, and he said that Rhode was angry with him for disobeying her father. If she took it too far . . ." What if they were working around the curse instead of on it. The Skulls were clearly capable of healing magic, if Skinn Boric and Tyki Mikk and Rhode herself were alive and well, perhaps . . .

"It's possible the resonance was a reaction to the Noah's attempts to help heal him." He studied the first set of brackets again. "Kanda said that the Skulls were 'studying' his curse during this time in January, but it would seem from the lotus' reaction later that they never fully understood it." Which probably meant it was nothing less than a miracle that Kanda was intact at all. "And that could explain why there's no sign of reactions when the last two petals fell. They had already determined what he could recover from on his own and what he could not."

Which meant that Kanda's description of the punishment he had suffered on the 18th and 24th was probably exactly accurate. The syringe probably had contained acid, and had probably done exactly what it had felt like - dissolved every bit of tissue it came into contact with. Because his Noah master had learned where Kanda's limits were. The only way to really know would be to step over the line, at least once.

Komui found that answering that riddle brought him no satisfaction, and he regretfully tucked his notebook back into the safety of his breast pocket. "Kanda will not remember the dream unless he finds it during meditation. Even if he does, I don't think it will . . . unsettle him enough to interrupt synchronization with Mugen." Somehow using the word 'break' seemed highly inappropriate. Kanda had been calm even when he'd seen Rhode looking at him through the dream, so he clearly was no more afraid of her than he'd been before. He'd always known a Noah was capable of such a thing, and to see confirmation of that knowledge would not be too much for Kanda to handle.

But recalling that detail brought something else to mind, something else Tiedoll needed to know. "He said that when she started, she had dressed him in a white wig."

Tiedoll had been silent for a while, and his voice was still dishearteningly blank when he spoke again. Not that Komui had been expecting forgiveness for putting Kanda through an interrogation, but it would have been nice. "So she was pretending that he was Allen."

That was his conclusion as well. "It seems she hasn't lost her fascination with him despite her defeat on the Ark. I shudder to think that what Kanda described is what she intends to do to Allen." Only after he said it did he realize how it sounded, and Komui closed his eyes. Stuttering that Kanda meant just as much to him as Allen after that would be pointless. "I wish he'd told the panel. No one could blame him for conceding to the Noah after something like that."

There was a sigh behind him, a tightly controlled exhale. "There is one that will blame him no matter how much he suffered."

Tiedoll knew almost as much of Kanda's past as he himself did, the general knew nearly all the pertinent information. He knew why Leverrier had paid special attention to this, why he'd been so relentless in his quest to get a satisfactory answer to every question. Even so, Leverrier would be hard-pressed to admit to a room full of people that being dismembered and _waking up_ from it, fully healed and with the prospect of a repeat, was not grounds for giving in.

And then Komui realized that Tiedoll wasn't talking about Leverrier.

"You should be there when he wakes. He'll have questions."

"Such as why the head supervisor was willing to turn him over to Order interrogators?"

There was no more excuse to stare at the timeline, and Bridget Faye would soon return and report to Leverrier if she found him missing, so he turned with a wan smile. "I don't think he has any questions about that," he admitted. "He did not submit willingly to the procedure. I suspect I'll be in the infirmary myself the next time Kanda sees me."

Tiedoll looked remarkably calm, with only a small amount of visible anger in the skin around his eyes. Smile lines that were dark though he was not smiling. "You seem confident the Nigerian will not reveal this information to Leverrier."

He nodded, once. "I'm sure." He gestured at the door, since the general was between him and it, and Tiedoll ignored the cue entirely.

"Even as you're willingly abdicating your position," he continued. "You do not give your people enough credit, if you think your behavior is fooling them."

Or Tiedoll, obviously. Komui squashed the anger he felt at being so cornered, both figuratively and literally; it was better than being beaten to a pulp. "If I step down gracefully I'll be given a scientific position." Probably in America, Leverrier would figure Epinstein could handle him. "And if I leave hard feelings behind, they're less likely to whine about my being gone. It'll be easier if she doesn't hear my name that often."

Tiedoll stared at him for a long time, and the crow's feet only grew deeper. "So this is to make things easier for Lenalee-chan, is it?"

His disapproval rang in his voice and Komui kept hold of his anger by only a thread. "Just because I'm no longer head supervisor doesn't mean I can't continue protecting Exorcists." He straightened his shoulders. "Bridget will notice my absence. Please excuse me."

Tiedoll did not such thing. "After what you asked of Kanda, you choose to run?"

After days of careful words, careful slights, careful phrases and careful actions, it was hard to find the words that would make the general let him go. "Being in Leverrier's debt is not in Lenalee's best interest." Even if Leverrier wanted the fighting force of the Exorcists to succeed, as far as Lenalee was concerned, the less she saw of that man the better. "She's angry with me and I'll use it if it means keeping her safe. I have enough friends that I can keep influence no matter where I end up in the Order. I . . . I did what I did because this is the final act. It isn't as if I'll have to spend much time elsewhere before-"

Before things got bad enough that they'd have to put him back into a position of responsibility. Komui swallowed the sentence and started again. "If this war is about to get as bad as Kanda reported, the last thing I want Lenalee worrying about is me."

Froi stared at him a long time. "And just how long will you use Lenalee as your excuse?"

It was hard to keep his voice level. "Please move, general."

"I think not. I am learning all manner of things about you, supervisor."

Komui narrowed his eyes behind the lenses and hoped it was visible. "I couldn't be sure of his location and I could not send seven pieces of Innocence into a trap-"

"When did I give you the impression that I was an imbecile?" Finally, there was a tiny bit of anger there, but Komui barely noticed it as he tried to piece out what the sentence itself meant. The general looked faintly exasperated as he continued. "Do you truly believe I took all the Innocence I had in my possession onto that train with me that night?"

Komui blinked, totally nonplussed. "You mean you didn't? But – where-"

"In my luggage. That was one of the reasons I left Chaoji behind." The general smiled disarmingly. "The luggage was finally retrieved by the Finders and all the Innocence was safe inside. You need not worry."

That information went whirling around his brain for a minute. Six pieces of Innocence left defenseless, in plain sight, alone in a storage room in a hotel in Belgrade that was fully known by the Noah. "That doesn't excuse-" he started weakly, but the general cut him off.

"All you had to do was call me and tell me to do so. It was not the unsynchronized Innocence that kept you from notifying me." He was still angry, but there was something beneath it. "You had hoped that you would be able to find Yuu and bring him home yourself."

When Komui said nothing, Tiedoll continued. "When you received the first token and you realized what had become of him, you could not forgive yourself for not seeing the rumors in Spain as the trap that it was. And so you could not allow any other Exorcist, even a general, to willingly enter the next."

His mouth had become a desert at some point, he could not even swallow. But second after second passed, and Tiedoll showed no signs of relenting, or of letting him go. Komui was startled when he collided gently with the counter behind him, not even sure when he'd started backing up, but the general seemed no further away than before. He knew an intimidation tactic when he saw one, but that didn't stop it from being effective.

Or the general from being right.

"You are not giving in to pressure from Leverrier because of Lenalee, or because of Kanda, but because you made a mistake and you have no idea how to make it right." The general gave him a long look. "If this is your first mistake of this magnitude I do feel sympathy for you, but as you previously noted, the final battle is upon us. You do not have time for the luxury of self-flagellation. Show the same fortitude you demand of your Exorcists."

There was nothing to say to that, and he did not even look for words. It was true, every last word. But the last was a command, and it was a command he knew he could not obey.

There was a reason that some people were accommodators and some people were not.

Perhaps Tiedoll saw that in his eyes. Perhaps the general was simply tired of the silence. Perhaps it was because he knew if he stayed any longer he would become too angry to leave. Whatever the reason, Froi Tiedoll turned away in disgust, and this time it was not fear that left Komui unable to push himself off the shelf.

-x-

**Author's Notes**: Sorry about the delay. Jeez, you'd think since I finished it last month I'd be a bit faster with the filler, right? Life happened. More life is going to happen, so be warned! But I will try to get off my duff and get this done for you folks. I can promise you some angry Kanda goodness next chapter, as well as the reappearance of Lavi and some of Lenalee's thoughts as well. Also, there are rumors of a new issue of -man in Shonen Jump magazine's near future! Keep your fingers crossed.

Also, Melric – your pressie is about half done, and it has been incorporated partially into this fic. So if you're wondering why exactly Leverrier is so worried about Kanda, all will be revealed, but not in this story. I'll get it done ASAP!


	25. Chapter 18 CIM: Reflections

Disclaimer in previous chapters. Please see Author's Notes at the end.

**NOTE**: This is a **CIM** (Curse is Magical) chapter. **CIM** supposes a curse can restore beyond what is capable by the human body. Please note that **CIM** and **CIP** chapters **shared some content****.** They simply moved in different directions.

-x-

One of the very first things Tiedoll learned about Kanda was his aversion to touch.

He could be dead on his feet, covered in Akuma blood and worse, trudging barefoot across the African desert and he would still prefer to struggle on his own than have so much as a hand laid upon him. It was not just the help he resented, or needing the help, it was the contact itself. It might have had to do with his Buddhist beliefs, that the body was the temple, and therefore his body was sacred to his god and to him. Tiedoll certainly hoped that was not so; by Kanda's own admission he had administered one of the punishments that had done such damage to him, that had likely cost him a petal, and Tiedoll had been wondering since if the Noah had known that. What it truly meant to make Kanda inject the poison into himself.

It certainly made that Noah significantly more despicable in his mind, but also more intelligent, and neither was a pleasant thought.

Casting such depressing thoughts aside, touch was clearly the driving force behind the conversation on the other side of the curtain. Though perhaps conversation was not the correct word. Growling might have been more apropos.

"Give me my pants."

"Kanda-"

"Give me the damned pants!"

". . . no."

"Marie-!"

It was not his decency he was fighting for, and Marie knew that.

Incidentally, Marie also knew their general was standing on this side of the curtain. And was therefore withholding pants until such time as he could speak with his pupil. Which meant that sometime between the last time he had seen Kanda and now, the pants had been removed.

_It wasn't until they were entirely out of earshot of Hevlaska that he saw Yuu clench his fists, to squeeze away the feeling of leaving Mugen with her. He wasn't the only one; Kanda's guards, Leverrier's guards, noticed it, but it was plain Yuu didn't care._

_Though it was a clear sign of protest, the guards held their tongues, and it was Komui who spoke, stopping at an intersection in the halls. _

"_I'd like to take Kanda to the labs first, before we return him to his quarters. There are a few follow-up tests I'd like to run." The supervisor shoved his glasses back up the bridge of his nose, his voice half-distracted. Tiedoll wasn't sure to whom he was talking, but he stopped as well when the guards obediently halted their reluctant prisoner at his words._

"_Do you anticipate an issue?" He kept his voice cool, regretting the way Kanda cocked his head, just a bit. He could hear it, then, the blame, but there was nothing for it. He would know the truth soon enough, and he could make his own decisions regarding his treatment._

_The beret-wearing supervisor didn't seem upset by it, though Yuu would know he was not oblivious. His guards exchanged meaningful looks, and Tiedoll regarded them. They were probably thinking that someone was trying to pull the wool over Leverrier's eyes. They were probably right, too. _

"_No, but I can't know for sure that such a swift increase in an equip-type's synchronization hasn't created other issues. It may help us understand synchronization's effect on the body. Given this sudden restoration, there's a chance we may see something we'd miss with a more gradual improvement. Even in Kanda's case," he added offhandedly, still marking his clipboard. "Either way, I would appreciate it if you could notify Marie and Lenalee. It would seem there is no longer a need to keep her under guard, and perhaps this news would be better received from you. "_

_He looked to Kanda then, but as before Yuu refused to meet his gaze, contenting himself with continuing to glare at the lances still half-threatening him. He had answered their questions, Mugen was still obviously synchronized to him, and he was chafing more and more in the role of prisoner._

_The role of betrayer. He did not understand why he had not been released. Why he could not be released, at least not yet. He had looked at the report on his desk, he must have, and Tiedoll refused to liberate him just yet, wanting a glimpse of his eyes. Wanting to see the anger, the resentment. Wanting to know that the eyes glaring from beneath those eyebrows were those of his beloved pupil, and not some puppet of the Noah._

_If he truly did not remember, he would not tolerate much more of this before wanting reassurance of his own._

_And though he knew it was perhaps Komui's way of escaping the role of withholding information from Lenalee, if Kanda was truly himself again he would be mortified that his general was following him like a German shepherd. "Perhaps you're right," Tiedoll conceded, and though he longed to at least put a hand on his shoulder, to reassure him, he knew that Kanda did not want it. So he headed down the hallway without another word, towards the main lobby, and Komui started down the halls to his lair. He did not look back, and with no other choice, Kanda obeyed his guard._

And now he knew exactly where Komui had taken him. And what had been done to him.

It seemed unlikely that a hypnotist would see the need to divest his subject of his pants. So he had Matron to thank for trying to make Yuu more comfortable during his imprisonment in the infirmary. She must have been made aware of Leverrier's demand that Kanda remain out of sight.

Though given his tone of voice, Yuu was ready to leave with or without his pants. No one would dare touch him either way, not if his face was half as terrifying as his voice.

And leaving was not in his best interest. Tiedoll regretfully swept the curtain out of his way.

Only one head swiveled at his entrance, since Marie was already facing him. Tiedoll caught narrow, piercing eyes before Kanda turned away again with a disgusted snort. He had prepared to leave the bed, and the sheets were thrown back, exposing legs that belonged to someone much younger, those of a teenager when a growth spurt had made them ungainly and long. Froi had seen him, of course he had seen him during the trial, seen his entire upper torso, but this was a piece of his body that had been previously hidden, and the marked changes in him seemed to hit Froi even harder after weeks of thinking he had become used to the state of Yuu's body now.

Marie had taken the only chair in the immediate vicinity, so the general pulled the curtain closed behind him and sat lightly at the foot of the bed.

German shepherd indeed.

"You have answered all of our questions and more, and I will ask no more of you." Kanda was in no mood for preambles, certainly. "It is time you had some answers."

Yuu did not appear to care one way or the other, but a quick, irritated crossing of his arms indicated that he was at least willing to listen to the first few syllables. Or he knew he couldn't get away. Tiedoll settled more fully on the mattress and faced his pupil directly, still seeking eye contact.

"Roughly two months ago, you were targeted by the Noah and taken aboard their Ark." Kanda's eyes flickered to his in surprise, but it had to have occurred to him by now that he had not been captured as bait for the Fourteenth. "I was the intended mark. Because you were needed as bait, it was necessary for our enemy to keep you alive. Regrettably, it took us six weeks to find you." The details could wait, though Marie's mouth drew downwards in a mighty frown.

"You were tortured mercilessly by the Noah. It is truly a blessing you have no memory of that time." Yuu's eyes were still on him, as if it had not yet occurred to him what he was doing. "One method the Noah used was demanding obedience in exchange for rest, food, and other necessities. The state of your body reflects the length of time you refused."

The dark, almond-shaped eyes widened, just slightly, and Tiedoll tried very hard not to let one shred of his sadness be projected as he continued. Delivering this information apologetically would be extremely insulting to Yuu. "You eventually weakened beyond your ability to resist, and determined that your actions were not having the desired effect on the Noah, nor their plans to entrap me. You began cooperating with the Noah in order to have influence on their decisions."

Yuu glared at him, which Froi did not take personally. He was frankly floored he was being allowed to continue at all. "During that time, you encountered and killed nine Finders while accompanying the Noah that captured you. It is for that reason that you are being treated in this manner, and your loyalty has been called into question."

Kanda was not stupid; he would know, because of the way he'd phrased it, that the Finders had been encountered while in the presence of a Noah and thus were dead no matter what he might or might not have done. Nor did Tiedoll think Yuu would question that decision. It was not the right decision, but it was the only decision he could have made.

Yuu appeared to realize that he was maintaining eye contact because he broke it to glare even harder at his knees. The general swallowed his sigh. "Eventually the Noah made contact with me directly, and I made the choice to enter their trap. Unbeknownst to me, others also learned of your whereabouts and made similar decisions. Eight of us confronted the Noah. You took advantage of the change to the Noah's plan, and we were able to escape, but not without you suffering grave injuries. I believe you were never intended to survive leaving the Noah's side.

"When you were physically able, you were put on trial for the deaths of the nine Finders, and an official panel was convened to hear the intelligence you collected during your time with the Noah. It finished a week ago. I will be sure you receive a copy of the findings, but I caution you not to read too much into your own comments without consulting someone who was present at the panel how that information was communicated."

Kanda continued to glare, now apparently at the sheets, and Marie fidgeted in his chair. Froi was content to let everything sink in, waiting patiently for Kanda's eyes again. He didn't get them.

There was so much to tell him, yet so much of it really didn't matter. "There is more," he admitted. "Your time with the Noah . . . it changed you, as all experience does. This change was not to the good. When you were reunited with Mugen, the Innocence was not willing to accept the change, and remained synchronized only to the part of you it still recognized. Your synch rate was lowered significantly, which is why you have spent the day being asked why it has suddenly been restored."

Kanda visibly braced himself, his Adam's apple jerking in his throat though he did not immediately speak. "Is that not proof of betrayal?"

And though he knew, he _knew_ Kanda did not want it, he could not stop himself. Touch was a human need, after all, and without the memory of all the touch he had suffered with the Noah, it was safe. He put his hand firmly on Kanda's knee, surprised when Yuu didn't even flinch. Though it was bony and narrow, like a chicken's leg, it was warm beneath his palm, and Froi could feel Kanda's pulse, slow and strong, in the blood vessels that ran beneath his skin.

There was reason for more than sadness. The Noah had taken him, but in the end, perhaps the Noah had given him back.

"Just because you do not remember what happened, does not mean Mugen would forget." That much was certain. "Had you betrayed your Innocence, you would have Fallen. Your synchronization level being restored is proof of your loyalty. As you have no memory of what occurred, the change in you has faded as well, and Mugen recognizes that."

The words did not seem to console his pupil, who continued to stare fixedly at the mattress, and Tiedoll rubbed a soothing circle on Kanda's knee a moment before he gave it a few pats and released it.

"The Order staff is aware of the trial and the panel, and because of this new development, Inspector Leverrier has asked that you remain out of sight until we can determine exactly what happened last night. I would consider it a personal favor if you would cooperate with that order."

But he would not repeat it as an order himself. Kanda could stay out of sight as easily in his quarters, after all, and he was welcome to do so if he wished.

Yuu remained where he was a moment, deep in thought, and then he loosely crossed his legs with an irritated 'Tch.'

-x-

So it was the Noah again.

The announcement had been made hours ago, and at first his thoughts had moved to things like security, and if they would need to move again, and how to prevent such an intrusion in the future. The science team had addressed those fears, describing something that would 'detect the opening of a portal or gate' and were going to outfit all the rooms and hallways with one, but that would take time, and until then . . .

But that fear was nothing new. The Noah had known where their old headquarters were, so it made sense they knew where the new one was. There was always someone willing to talk for gold, or favors, on a ship or in a place such as this. Even in Anita's crew there had been those that would give away their shipping dates or cargo so that others would have the edge when they arrived in port with novel items.

Now his thoughts traveled to ways to figure out which sailor it was that was talking. And once again they focused on Exorcists.

He couldn't help himself. They knew, they _knew_ what Allen Walker was, and what he would become. He had been under guard since all of this had happened, he had been under Inspector Link's watchful eye since it was revealed all those months ago. To hear that a Noah had come and once again visited Kanda-

Would he never be free from them? Was he still theirs to influence?

Would the Noah take them, one at a time, and end this battle from the inside out? His general and Marie trusted them, trusted them both, trusted their lives to them in that battle. Trusted sight unseen that Kanda had never really turned against them, trusted that Allen Walker would once again be able to control the Noah that was inside him. They had been here so much longer, and seen so much more. They knew their Innocence so well-

He absently rubbed the bracelet on his wrist, his Innocence warm to the touch. That made sense, though; it had come to him only after he had asked for their help, asked for Anita's help, asked for the crew's help. The scientists could call it what they would, but he knew exactly why this material was warm and strong beneath his fingers.

What would _they_ do? Who would _they_ trust?

But that was easy to answer, he chastised himself, as his feet carried him into the mess. Anita-sama would give her crew the benefit of the doubt. She could afford to, because Mahoja would always have her back, always protect her no matter what.

He wasn't stupid, he knew that his general would do the same, as he was obligated to do. And it was rude to think of it as an obligation, because he deeply respected the man. But Froi Tiedoll, as welcoming as he was, was no replacement for Anita-sama. She had been his second mother. He would never forgive those that had taken her away, and he would never let another replace her.

And Froi Tiedoll was blinded too by his loyalty to his pupils. He did not have a Mahoja to protect his back, Noise Marie was not that person. He trusted Kanda as well, had not shown one iota of doubt.

So . . . perhaps he had been sent to be Tiedoll's Mahoja? The thought was new, and he let it blossom as he stood in line at the window. Surely he was as strong as she was now, though not as tall nor as calm. She was unflappable, whereas he had panicked, both during the battle and the retreat. His Innocence pulsed once against his wrist, almost in admonishment, and he glanced down in surprise, then felt himself smile, just a little.

The crew _would_ berate him for thinking like that.

He ordered stew and rice crackers, a hearty serving, and when it was prepared he turned towards the tables, smile still in place. If he was his general's Mahoja, he needed to become stronger. Calmer. More knowledgeable. And there was certainly someone he could go to for learning the latter.

In fact, that person wasn't even hard to find. His hair was bright red, and he was rather tall, so he wasn't difficult to spot at all.

Chaoji refused to let himself hesitate as he took a seat on the bench beside Lavi, who glanced over at him curiously before giving him a big grin.

"Chaoji!" he greeted cheerfully, and his companions looked up as well. Allen Walker was there, mowing his way through a plate of ribs with that same bright smile that somehow didn't seem to mean as much as it would have on someone else. Lenalee Lee was there, too, though she had no food in front of her, just a cup of tea. Lavi was twisting ridiculous amounts of spaghetti onto his fork and trying to shove it into his mouth, and Chaoji gave him a nod and picked up his chopsticks, waiting for him to finish chewing.

Lenalee had also given him a bright, empty smile, and let her eyes fall to the giant bowl in front of him. "I didn't know Jerry had gotten watercress again," she murmured.

"He's been importing all things Oriental for a month now," Allen supplied, searching his plate of gnawed ribs for one he might have missed. "Marie said Jerry's on a mission to make Kanda fat."

"Oh," Lenalee replied, still staring at the bowl. Chaoji noticed that she, too, seemed to have lost some weight, and folded his chopsticks at once, offering them over the bowl.

"W-would you like some?" he heard himself offer, because of course Mahoja would have just held her still and poured it down the hatch, and he certainly wasn't about to do that.

"Oh!" she repeated, then flushed. "Oh, no, I didn't mean-"

"Please do." He used his best Mahoja voice. "There is certainly enough for two."

"There's enough for ten," Lavi pointed out. "Don't let Allen's portions fool your sense of perspective."

"Hey!" he protested, through a mouthful of rib, and Chaoji lay the chopsticks on the bowl's rim, nearest Lenalee, and stood up to get himself another pair. He was pleased to find, upon his return, that when he sat she gracefully picked up the chopsticks, and he let her select a carrot before digging in himself, pushing the bowl and the plate of crackers into the middle of the table.

"Thank you," she said quietly, and he beamed at her.

"But you all seem so sad," he observed, glancing again between them all. "Are you worried about what happened last night?"

The three of them glanced first at each other, then their meals, and Chaoji hesitated. "Lavi . . . you know more about what goes on here in the Order than most others, right? Is there . . ." There was no easy way to ask, so he did it before he could think too hard about how rude and forward it was. "Is there anything I need to know to help protect my general?"

Lavi paused in mid-spaghetti-twirl, staring fixedly at the pasta for long enough that Chaoji waved his hands. "Oh, that was foolish! Please forget that I said anything-"

"You asked us why we were worried, right?" Lavi interrupted, his voice oddly quiet. "I'm worried because I don't know. I don't know much more than you do."

Based upon Lenalee and Allen's expressions, this was a very odd thing for Lavi to say, and Chaoji froze, hands still palm-out and with his chopsticks still in the right one, no less, and stared at the one-eyed redhead. "L-Lavi . . ."

"You weren't there when they questioned Kanda this morning?" Allen's voice held a note of real curiosity.

Lavi shook his head, then played idly with the pasta. "Gramps was, but all he'd tell me was that Link figured out that Kanda's memory had been altered. He really doesn't remember anything that happened. He was in Spain, he was attacked, and the next thing he knows, he was here, this morning." The half-coiled wad of spaghetti fell off his fork and he stabbed it. "There was golem footage recovered, but it showed nothing. No one scaled the walls, no one was in the hallways, no one entered the room."

"So . . . it really was someone using a Gate . . ." Lenalee sounded troubled, and sucked the tips of her chopsticks thoughtfully. "And that means that they could have gone anywhere, and done anything . . ."

Lavi stabbed the spaghetti again, a bit more forcefully. "I don't much like the thought of Noah being able to manipulate us like this."

Because he was a Bookman, Chaoji realized slowly. They counted on their memories being perfect, it was the only reason he'd been able to find Rhode's key in that mess Jasdevi and Debitto had created, so the idea that a Noah could just come in his sleep and take away his memories . . .

No wonder Lavi was worried.

"Komui said he was going to put sensors in all the rooms, though," Allen pointed out, seemingly uncomfortable with this sudden atmosphere of open concern. "That should definitely help-"

Lenalee grabbed a mushroom with the same quickness as a snake striking, stuffing it into her mouth, and Allen and Lavi exchanged a look.

"You're going to have to forgive him at some point," Allen pointed out gently, and she glared at the stew bowl, forcing the mushroom down.

"No I don't." Her voice had risen half an octave.

"But you forgave me?" Lavi gave up trying to stab the coil of spaghetti and started re-winding it.

Lenalee managed to look slightly torn. "I'm still mad at you," she stated flatly. "But you're Bookman's apprentice, and he-"

"-wouldn't let me say anything?" Oddly, Lavi was smiling. "You think Bookman's scarier than Leverrier?"

She recoiled as if he had slapped her, so that her chopsticks clicked on the table sharply, and Lavi sighed.

"Leverrier was here the instant the Vatican knew that an Exorcist had been taken by the enemy. Komui can't go against him if he's been given authorization by the Vatican to investigate. And even so, he did. He's the one that called Allen. He's the one that sent us to Belgrade."

"He tried to take responsibility for me using that Gate," Allen pointed out. "And he's part of the reason I was reinstated."

Lenalee's lips thinned, and Chaoji hesitantly crunched a rice cracker, hoping that it would somehow shatter the tension he knew he'd caused.

Then again, Mahoja had created plenty of tension. Then she'd say something true and simple and make everyone realize how silly they were being. What would she say now . . .

"Have you talked to him about it?"

She looked at him, really looked at him, then she shook her head. "No. I'm too angry still."

"He's not having an easy time either, Lenalee," Lavi said quietly. "Don't punish him too long."

She turned her head sharply, and where two pigtails used to swish around her shoulders, now her hair moved in a smooth wave. "I don't want to talk about this anymore."

Lavi turned back to his pasta, toying with it once more. "I know . . . why you hate Leverrier so much." She didn't so much as move a muscle, though Chaoji looked curiously between the two of them. That was certainly something he hadn't known. "It should stand to reason that your brother doesn't much like him, either. If I were you, I would be wondering why they're spending so much time together."

She turned back to stare at him in shock, but Lavi was now looking at Allen. "You've been reinstated, right? Why do you look so worried?"

Allen balked, clearly not expecting to have the spotlight on him, and he swallowed a huge mouthful of what must have been pie. "Er, yeah, I was." Then he grinned and rubbed the back of his neck. "That's kinda the problem . . ."

"They think you had something to do with last night," Chaoji heard himself say, and so he filled his mouth with stew. Lavi and Allen both looked shocked at his declaration.

But then Allen smiled. "Letting the Noah in would endanger everyone here. I won't even leave a Noah's host to die, right?"

It was funny how sharp Allen's words could be when his face was that friendly, and Chaoji immediately felt ashamed.

"But sometimes saving people means I have to break the Order's rules, like with Kanda." Allen's smile fell somewhat. "If this is my last chance, I have to really make it count."

"Seems like this is everyone's last chance," Lavi observed thoughtfully. "The Earl said this was the last act, and that army Kanda saw . . . seems like we all need to make it count." The red-haired Exorcist stood, grabbing his still half-full plate. "So I'm counting on all of you."

"Me too," Allen agreed, though he made no move to stand, and forked another piece of pie onto his plate. "I'm glad you're with us, Chaoji. Keep a good eye on General Tiedoll."

"And don't be too hard on your brother, Lenalee," Lavi admonished gently. "The science team needs their coffee if they're going to make all those portal detectors."

Chaoji and Lenalee exchanged a glance, then Lenalee gave a hesitant nod. "I-I guess you're right. I do need to bring them coffee . . ."

"But first you need to eat," Chaoji reminded her, half to make her feel better and half to avoid having to respond to Allen.

But the other teens smiled, and Lenalee picked up her chopsticks again, and Lavi bid them farewell and disappeared into the crowds. Chaoji chewed on another rice cracker, looking for something to say, but it was Allen that finally broke their silence.

"Chaoji, is anyone allowed to go visit Kanda yet?"

-x-

His curtain whispered, but Kanda ignored it.

Too many people had come and gone in the last few hours for him to really care anymore. It was probably Marie, or worse the general, neither left him alone for long. He supposed their constant vigilance should worry him, as if they expected some kind of harm to befall him.

That thought brought him right back to Komui, and he felt his face harden in response.

Bastard. He was going to put him in the infirmary for a week the next time he saw him. Surely he of all people wouldn't be stupid enough to come bother him tonight –

Whoever the visitor was, they didn't say anything, and he heard the chair Marie had so recently vacated being pulled a bit further from the side of the bed. It wasn't curiosity, he certainly didn't _care_ who it was, it was definitely irritation that had him crack one of his eyes open and stare directly at wide, grey eyes under a mop of white hair.

Moyashi. Fantastic.

Kanda let his eye slipped closed again with a 'che,' and refused utterly to move. He was quite comfortable, sprawled above the sheets, propped up on three pillows. His right arm was behind his head, to adjust the angle when he'd been reading, but he'd read enough, and now the pages of the report were scattered across the bed. Not that he needed to hide them; fucking moyashi had been there, testified on his behalf, even. He probably knew everything that was on those pages. Maybe more.

Still, it wasn't like he was welcome. "Go away, moyashi."

Instead, he heard a delicate sigh. "I'm glad you're feeling better, Kanda. We were worried."

Was it possible he was really _that_ stupid? "Leave or I'll kill you."

Oddly, that made Allen chuckle, and Kanda had opened both eyes to glare at him before he'd even realized it. The idiot really was laughing.

"Believe it or not, we missed the death threats too."

Yes. Yes, it appeared he had been brain damaged during the time Kanda had forgotten. Fabulous. Kanda stared at him flatly. "Your eyelashes look ridiculous."

That shut him up; Allen's smile faded instantly into bristling moyashi. Still too easy to bait, too.

"Kanda . . !" But then the bristling faded, just a little, and Allen looked strangely sad. "Would you really have killed me, if Link hadn't stopped you?

Kanda closed his eyes again, and the mental image of moyashi lying dead on the stone floor brought a smile to his lips. "Yes. Shall I demonstrate?"

"Argh!" He heard Allen rub his hair in frustration. "I'm serious! You wake up, not knowing where you are or if it's real, and the first thing you do is start killing people!?" He was actually shouting, which was enough to get Kanda's attention. He glared strongly at Allen, and was surprised further when he was met with a glare of his own. "What if I hadn't been down there, and it was Lavi? Or Lenalee? Would you have killed _her_?"

For some reason, that assumption infuriated him, and though he refused to budge from his position, his voice was nice and cold. "I'll have to kill you anyway, sooner or later."

That stopped moyashi dead in his tracks, and the glare vanished behind the idiot's bangs. "I already told you. I'll take care of things myself if it comes to that."

"Che." That idiot wouldn't know it was too late until he was dead. "If that was all you wanted, go away."

There was perhaps a full minute of silence before Allen spoke. "I didn't come to fight. I came to say . . . I'm sorry." Kanda had no patience for this of all things and tuned out, closing his eyes again, but Allen kept right on going. "I'm sorry that it took us so long to find you. I'm sorry that I didn't follow you onto the Ark."

Kanda was about to retort when Allen took a breath. "And I wanted to say thank you. For waiting for us."

Moyashi was really, honestly feeling guilty. What a naïve fool. But though he longed to throw all of that back in Allen's face, he couldn't. He didn't remember it, and these reports . . . they couldn't be accurate, could they? "Che. As useless as you are, at least you kept Mugen safe."

He left his eyes closed, he didn't want to see Allen's face, and that childish expression he wore when he figured out something blindly apparent. The idiot was at least not so obvious as to gasp, and they stayed in silence for a long time.

And Kanda recognized this opportunity for what it was. Marie was not here. Tiedoll was not here. Allen was many things, but he wasn't a liar. Particularly not if he was feeling all this misplaced guilt. Kanda waved the piece of paper in his left hand. "This . . . is it true?"

He heard Allen give that little sigh again, and then there was weight on the side of his bed, near his hip. Kanda's eyes shot open, but all Allen had done was prop up a foot. He too was leaning back in the chair, as if he intended to stay awhile, and his face was pointed at the ceiling, hiding his eyes.

"No," he said frankly, and Kanda continued to stare at him. "It's not accurate. I don't believe you ever told anyone the worst of it."

Kanda hesitated. There was a question, a question he needed an answer to, but he wasn't sure Allen had it. Only Marie and his general did, and he could never ask them. Not even on his deathbed. "The night you morons walked into the Noah's trap, this says I attacked one of the general's doppelgangers."

The figure draped over the chair didn't say anything. Then again, he hadn't asked the question. And he wasn't going to. Asking was doubt, and he didn't doubt. He wasn't going to read any more of the report, either. Even skimming it had told him too much.

To know one's limit was self-defeating. It was better that he never know what it took, was better that it be a surprise than a certainty.

"And you're wondering if it was the real Tiedoll?" Allen didn't laugh. "I'm sorry. I don't know."

Kanda closed his eyes, because of course he was not disappointed. He hadn't expected the idiot to know, had he? If the Noah and the Akuma couldn't tell, it wasn't like moyashi would.

"But I do know you blocked an Akuma Marie and I did not see attacking. And that Akuma turned out to be the one that tortured you the most, so it stands to reason you did what you did, if not to protect your general, to piss the Akuma off." The words had an odd lilt, as if Allen was smiling as he said them. "And that sounds like you, doesn't it?"

-x-

**Author's Notes**: Good grief. I have no excuse for the late update. Melric, your pressie is almost done, and I will concentrate very hard on this now that real life has gotten out of the way again. Most of this chapter is setting up the things I left out, such as Kanda's reintroduction to the order and the resolution of Lenalee and Komui's relationship, but the last scene is one that I had originally pictured in my brain, Allen waving his arms and screaming at Kanda for waking up and immediately trying to kill everyone. =)


	26. Chapter 19 CIM: Troubling Decisions

Disclaimer in previous chapters. Please see Author's Notes at the end.

**NOTE**: This is a **CIM** (Curse is Magical) chapter. **CIM** supposes a curse can restore beyond what is capable by the human body. Please note that **CIM** and **CIP** chapters **shared some content****.** They simply moved in different directions.

-x-

He couldn't quite bring himself to take it down.

Komui leaned against the opposite counter, as he had done so many times in the past months. It seemed like there was a permanent hollow now in his back for it, the two of them fit together so perfectly. This room, built by him in a replica of the one they had left behind in the old headquarters, it was the one part of the facility that was truly his. Improved upon by him. Made specifically for him.

It would not be so comfortable for anyone who was taller. He was lucky, he was tall by Chinese standards, but still on the shorter side of average for Europe. And it was a European, probably Section Chief Peck that would take this office. He was taller, taller than Reever even, and this place wouldn't fit him.

It wasn't large enough to hide that man's secrets. He would have to expand it, to include a place for the leftovers of the Third Exorcist project.

And that meant Komui had to remove the leftovers of his own project. Kanda.

The butcher paper stared down at him, the lines beginning to run and crowd together towards the center, and Komui smiled at it, tilting his head upwards in an effort to keep the tears in his eyes. He hadn't cried, not for Kanda, not for himself, not even for Lenalee, and here at the end of things it didn't seem appropriate, somehow.

Kanda certainly had not cried. Not even when Rhode tore him apart. He had told the Nigerian that she had taken 'his people,' and at the time he had not thought to ask what that meant. Who was it that Kanda considered his people? The Japanese, who might never recover from what the Earl had done to that country? The Order? Lenalee, and Lavi, Allen and Marie and the other Exorcists?

Did he have that special title, to be one of Kanda's people?

His smile grew, and the tears used the deeper wrinkles of his eyes to spill out and escape. The butcher paper was watching, but of course it wasn't going to have the opportunity to tell anyone. He honestly wasn't sure what to do with it. Throwing it away was like throwing the struggle away, throwing away the hope that there was still something he could do about it. Leaving it for his successor to throw away was no better than what he was doing to Kanda, to Allen, to the Exorcists.

To Lenalee.

He told himself that he could still protect them from America. He told himself that Epstein would let him. He told himself this wasn't goodbye, and he'd seen Lenalee again soon.

He told himself if he looked hard enough, he'd be able to get Kanda back.

Tiedoll was right. He lied.

And keeping that butcher paper was like keeping his mistake, folded neatly in stacks of records that Bridget would no longer be around to go through. It wasn't the kind of thing that one ought to keep in their hope chest, after all. There were other things in that chest, sitting in storage on the mainland, if it was still there.

Their parents' things. He had sold the house soon after the Order took Lenalee, having decided that wherever she was would be home, but there had been a few things he was not comfortable with leaving behind. They were small things, his mother's favorite shawl, permanently bearing the homemade perfume she wore and gave as gifts during holidays. There were his father's harrows, rusted from their last use in the rice fields that had paid for his education. There was Lenalee's first toy, which had been his as well as a baby.

It was more than half empty, he had hoped to fill it with things for her and present it to her when she was married.

And this, this timeline of pain and betrayal, it had no place there.

The lines scurried away from him now, terrified of his hands as he tore them down, sheet by sheet. The colors all ran together, which made no sense as all the water was in his eyes and not on the paper, and pins fell around him in a shower. But it was no match for him, the paper was crumpled and there was a fire in the metal trash bin before he thought to wonder where the box of matches in his hand had come from.

There was venting in the room, in case an Akuma penetrated it and was destroyed the gas needed somewhere to go. The fans kicked on automatically, removing the smoke, and his watering eyes made out the writing on the box, a hotel in India.

This was the box of matches they'd recovered from Cross Marian's quarters, after his disappearance. Like other memories, it too had a place in this room.

He felt himself smile again, sadly, and wondered at the symbolism there a moment before he gently set them down. His glasses were off and cleaned on his shirt, his eyes were wiped, and then he took a deep breath and began gathering the memories worth taking with him.

It was called a hope chest for a reason.

-x-

The library was not the quiet place it once was.

For one, there were a lot of Order personnel in it. Because it was not yet fully unpacked, and everyone had better things to do than to make it tidy, it was rather a mess of half-opened boxes from where the science or research teams had torn through for a specific text or translation. It was a veritable maze and sound didn't travel well, which made it an excellent place to have a secret discussion.

The problem was that everyone thought so.

Lavi had therefore decided the best thing to do was to listen. And being that the rows were not rows so much as lines of debris, the top of the bookcases seemed a better place to listen to the concert of whispers than anywhere else. And so there he was, on his back lest anyone see his silhouette, in the warm air trapped near the ceiling, listening to the leaves the wind had blown in.

Komui Lee was resigning today. They'd seen the boxes themselves.

Kanda Yuu had been driven insane by the attack last night. She saw him in a wheelchair just that morning, being taken from a secret treatment that might restore his sanity.

Inspector and Secretary Leverrier was going to take over as head supervisor of the Order. The paperwork had already been signed.

They were going to have to move again; the science department was already packing boxes.

The Noah was still on the Order grounds, marauding as one of them.

They were the normal rumors, sans the juicy gossip of who was dating who and who had violated their sacred oaths. And Lavi didn't know if a single one was true.

Someone leapt lightly up on top of the bookcase adjacent and Lavi left his eye closed. Better that the panda think he decided to have a nap than be punished for what was on his mind.

He was being purposefully given these jobs because Bookman didn't want him anywhere near it. He had been at panel every day, and yet now he had been excluded from Leverrier's interrogation of Kanda and the Order's subsequent interrogation involving the Nigerian, of all people. He had been excluded from Allen's reinstatement, and the questioning regarding what role he might have played in whatever happened to Kanda two nights ago.

Kanda was in the infirmary and far from insane, but there was definitely something on his mind he didn't want to share. After he talked to Allen he clammed up and hadn't spoken more than a few words to anyone. And given the way Allen was behaving now, all smiles and hope-

The panda didn't even try to get his attention nicely. His ear was grabbed with iron fingers – literally, since the old man was wearing the fingertips he normally wore when using Heavenly Compass – and Lavi found himself toppling unceremoniously off the bookshelves. They were tall, requiring a staircase on wheels to reach the top, and he had exactly enough time to get Ozuchi Kozuchi free and catch himself without having to resort to rolling on – and possibly dislocating – his shoulder.

Yet despite his initial anger, he said nothing at all when Bookman landed lightly in front of him, and he followed the diminutive old man from the library, ignoring the surprised looks they were getting between shelves.

After all, it was hard to catch yourself with Innocence without talking to it, and he wasn't about to admit that it sometimes wasn't necessary. The closer he grew to that Innocence, the more panda worried about it becoming a crystal type. Innocence that became parasitic would compromise his ability to remain neutral, as it could have effect on his decision-making process.

Which was getting him in trouble anyway, if the set of the old man's shoulders was any indication.

They walked through the halls silently, Lavi grinning at all those they passed, and soon the old man led him to a room he'd only been in during the initial wandering around in their new headquarters. It was a smoking room, with lovely deep upholstery and ornately carved woodwork, and the panda indicated where he wanted Lavi to sit with a sweep of his wide sleeves.

Lavi did so, in synch with the closing of the door.

He expected the slap on the back of his head, and he accepted it only because blocking it would result in worse. He didn't grimace and whine about it, though, remaining upright and stiff on the couch, and he heard a gusty sigh behind him.

"Idiot."

The rest of the people in the library might buy that he was hiding from the old man to take a nap in there, but it was still out of character for Bookman to blow his cover like that. Or to drag him into an unused sitting room to yell at him. Or, really, to hit him when there was no one else around to see it.

Which meant there was someone else around to see it.

Lavi went over his memory of walking into the room again. No golems, none of the bugs they'd used to spy on Cross and Allen's conversation, or at least not visible. There was a vase of flowers that were still alive on the coffee table, and the room was awfully dust-free for being used infrequently.

Why would Bookman bring him to this place . . . ?

"What have you heard?"

Did he really expect him to say? Yet Bookman circled around him, settling himself on the opposite sofa, like they did this all the time, and after giving him a glare Lavi decided he meant it.

"The usual. People've seen Komui packing up but they don't know why. They know Kanda's in the infirmary, but not what's wrong with 'im, they're not happy about all the stiffs from Order administration still hangin' around, and they're rattled about the Noah's visit."

"Hmm," Bookman grunted noncommittally. "You're angry with me."

Again, completely blunt, when it was obvious the room was being monitored. Lavi gave him another look, less of a glare this time, but Bookman's eyes were closed.

Apparently, though, he wasn't waiting for a response. "You resent that you were not included in any of the records made after the Noah apparently took incriminating memories from Kanda."

That was a trap; technically he shouldn't care enough about it to be resentful. But at the same time, records were by far the most important thing to a Bookman, and as far as the Bookmen were concerned, curiosity and unease at being excluded were allowed.

"I-"

"You're an immature idiot," Bookman interrupted blandly. "I am Bookman. You are my apprentice. You shall do what I ask of you, when I ask it of you, without question. That is what it means to be Bookman's apprentice. I have no patience for your adolescent ego."

Lavi just stared at him. Ego had nothing to do with it – he _was_ apprentice to Bookman, and that meant-

That meant what Bookman had just said was a load of crap.

The panda opened his eyes, calm and clear, and Lavi swallowed his protest and reformed it. "I needed that information to include in my own records-"

"You do not." Bookman's eyes closed in approval, though his tone was rough. "Your records are second to mine. It only matters that my records are complete. You shall give me details on what you overheard in the library today, written, before nightfall. I daresay you should begin working on it immediately."

Lavi made a noise of stifled protest, then stood up sharply. He started to say something, then swallowed it, and Bookman growled, low in his throat, though he did not move. "Is there something you want to say, Lavi?"

Lavi waited the appropriate number of beats. "No."

"Good," was the immediate reply. "I expect your work by sundown."

Lavi gave a short, stilted bow, heading for the door and closing it just quietly enough not to be a slam. From there he stalked in the direction of their quarters before turning down one of the halls and letting his shoulders slump a little. He passed the golem in the corner and wandered out onto a balcony. There were golems keeping surveillance there as well, but they were facing outward, trying to spot intruders in the woods. The nearest turned and scanned him, and, recognizing him as an Exorcist, they paid him no more attention.

It helped that there were no doors on this floor, so the golems outside had been programmed to do just that. Security figured the golems on the inside would be sufficient, and they were right.

Panda was going to have a hard time getting to this balcony without being seen, but it wasn't impossible.

In fact, the old man came from above, once again, leaping lightly to Lavi's side a scant five minutes later. He did not lean against the railing as his apprentice was doing, and Lavi did not look at him, content with staring out at the long shadows marking the end of a very frustrating day.

At least he had his answers, now. "So Komui's really leaving, huh?"

There was no other explanation for creating a record that stated that Lavi had been excluded. The object was to protect him from inquiry from the Order's new head supervisor, something that wasn't sitting well with Lavi at all.

"Hmm," Panda said, though it was in the affirmative. "It would appear he is resigning."

"What happened with the Nigerian?"

The old man was silent for a moment. "He is a very powerful man, and adheres staunchly to his principles. He and Komui were professional."

That was probably the best answer he was going to get, so Lavi let it go. He'd read Komui's record before they even arrived at the Order, so he knew of their previous encounter. "And I'm assumin' Leverrier's using last night and Allen's link to the Fourteenth to keep a closer eye on him."

"Lavi." Bookman's voice was hardly a rasp, it was so soft, and Lavi blinked, actually looking at the old man. With the long light, the shadows around his eyes were more pronounced. "You may disagree with my motives but you will obey them in letter and spirit."

Lavi frowned. "I already know too much," he pointed out in what he hoped was a reasonable tone of voice. Between Allen and Cross there was already a question as to whether the Order would ever let either of them go. "What is it about Kanda that makes this more dangerous?"

"Are you becoming attached to him?"

Yes. _Lavi_ was a bit too attached, truth be known, but so was Bookman. It was an answer in and of itself. "So there's a record you've already withheld."

Bookman sighed, and wound his scarf free. "Put it out of your mind. And be sure to write down everything you heard in the library."

"Gigi-"

"I'll need to beat you over the head with it later. For the record."

Lavi half-glared as the old man used the scarf to snag the balcony railings above him, and vowed to write small enough that it could all fit on one sheet.

-x-

"He looks awful."

The voice was quiet. On someone else it might be called petulant, but Marie knew well the meaning behind the seemingly unspecific words, and chose not to chide him for it.

He couldn't see, after all. Not exactly.

So instead Marie pursed his lips. "I am not surprised to hear you say that." He'd like to argue that their general hadn't exerted himself in weeks, but it certainly wasn't true. He had not been eating or resting well since the mission, even once the panel found Kanda not guilty. His stomach would become delicate when he was anxious, and he seemed to find rooms chilly when Marie thought the temperature was comfortable.

"You could alleviate some of his worry, yet you are not," Marie continued. "Your silence bothers him."

"Che," was the only reply, and Marie frowned at his mental image of Kanda, lying on the sheets, arms crossed and ankles crossed and generally utterly unapproachable.

Still, they were words, when he had been silent for nearly two days, and Marie was glad that concern for their general was enough to break that silence. It was serious, that Kanda would see and remember him only in the last few days yet observe such a marked change in the man. Had Kanda seen Tiedoll when they first returned, he would have been horrified.

And perhaps that was what Kanda was getting at.

There was the silken hiss of hair on cotton. It would be a long time, maybe so much as a year, before it was grown back enough to make the high ponytail that Kanda preferred, and Marie had grown used to the new noise. As much as he had grown accustomed to Kanda's heart.

It had changed again, these last few days. It was not his weight that had altered its sound so much as his emotions, and now it was the same steady beat he recalled from long ago.

His heart sounded right again.

"I did not try to dissuade him," Marie admitted. "For a time I thought he would leave me behind."

A catch in Kanda's breath, a half-formed snort. Clearly he did not approve.

"But even if he had, I would have pursued you on my own. You are a fool if you think I should have done otherwise."

"Who's the fool?" Kanda snapped, and it was accompanied by fabric and a sharp creak of the bed. He had sat up. "Have you become both blind and stupid in the time I don't remember?"

Yes. He had hit the nail on the head, if Kanda had been reduced to name-calling. "I was blind before you left, Kanda," he reminded the other teen coolly. "And if I am stupid, perhaps you can help by reminding me how many times we encountered Noah that we expected. Tell me how many times we knew our battleground before we set foot upon it, and knew who our enemy would be."

There was much to be said for knowing that you were going to encounter a Noah, and all the danger that it entailed. He might have gone in blind, but he did not go in ignorantly. It didn't happen that frequently.

It still made what they had done risky, and perhaps stupid in a way, but it was better than what had happened just two nights ago, when he had slept through an attack. He had never even heard the Gate open.

"And did you know your battleground?" Kanda snarled. "Did you know there would be two Noah and four level fours, when it takes a general to defeat just one?" Yuu didn't wait for him to answer, because of course the answer was no. "You know what that cost him."

"And it bought us an Exorcist," Marie countered. "Do you truly believe we could find an accommodator for Mugen, train them, and have them at your level in even a year? You're the one who told us what we're facing."

Kanda made a sound halfway between an exasperated whine and a growl. "And you believe that? What's to say it wasn't simply an illusion created for my benefit? Everything I told you could have been contrived!"

"You did not believe it so-"

"You shouldn't have trusted me!" It rang through the infirmary, the curtain could do nothing to dampen it, and Marie felt the heat of Kanda's glare on his face.

"I didn't." It was flat and cold. "Whatever you and Mugen have, Noel Organon and I trust each other. I am blind, yet my Innocence remains my partner. The first thing the Order required of you upon regaining consciousness was to face Mugen, and Mugen did not renounce you."

"Tch," Kanda growled. "And you didn't think my synch rate was a problem?"

"Mugen believed you would recover." He brought his voice down in the hopes that Kanda would follow suit. The last thing they needed to do was have this argument loudly enough for Tiedoll to overhear. "Questioning the judgment of Innocence is to question the judgment of God."

He heard more fabric, shifting tightly, and guessed that Kanda had crossed his arms again and turned away. "And that's why you're a fool."

Marie sighed but he didn't pursue it; they had disagreed on religion as long as he could remember. Reason would get nowhere with Kanda like this. He felt as if he had betrayed them, and letting him read the panel's findings . . . Kanda would see any compliance with the enemy as a betrayal as serious as running Tiedoll through himself. It was guilt that drove his anger, and Kanda was going to have to deal with that himself.

Marie honestly thought the conversation was over. But then he heard an intake of breath, wet and shallow, and a hoarse whisper. "You're right."

Kanda stilled; so it was loud enough for him to hear. It was coming from behind the other curtain, the only other patient in the infirmary. Inspector Tasha.

"We were . . . complacent." A swallow, thick and painful, but then another breath. "We won't . . . make mistake . . . again."

It was not only his words. It was the way the air bubbled even when he was not speaking. It was sharply different from the previous background noises Marie had heard, and it was definitely not good.

"Matron!" He swiped the curtain out of his way, for once not interested in whether Kanda followed him or not. Matron was speaking with someone on the phone, it was tinny but it sounded like Howard Link, and Noise Marie raised his voice. "Matron! Come quickly!"

She heard him, perhaps Link had as well, but the phone disconnected and then he was sweeping the other curtain out of the way, and by the inspector's bed. His breathing was not labored, though it was growing more and more shallow, and the soggy sounds were less pronounced. There was less and less air in his lungs.

The first woman to approach was not the Matron, it was Nurse Lydia, and he stepped aside. There was nothing Noel Organon could do but slice open the inspector's chest, and he would do it if he knew where to cut. He heard her fumbling with the equipment, and then the sound of the blanket being cast aside and skin smoothing over skin.

He was hardly breathing, yet his mouth moved with his next exhale. "Exorcist . . ."

"His chest is full of fluid," Lydia murmured urgently, when Matron was within distance. "He's suffocating."

She immediately ran to the cabinet, and there was the clink of metal on a tray before she hurried back to the bed. Kanda had gotten up as well, though he was now standing well out of the way, merely observing.

"Keep trying, inspector," Matron murmured, her voice both rigid and calm. It was an order to an inspector. "It will be easier to breathe very soon."

"Matron-!"

There was the sound of something very sharp cutting air, and then the press of metal against flesh. The inspector twitched on the bed, his heart discouragingly weak, and Marie heard fluid gush across skin.

The improvement was immediate. The next breath the inspector took was deeper than any Marie had previously heard, and more fluid poured from the incision Matron had made in his chest. But with it Marie plainly heard the bubble of more liquid, in his lungs rather than surrounding them. His heartbeat did not strengthen.

"His lungs are filling as well."

Matron tsked. "You will not develop pneumonia," she continued to order, and there was a clatter of metal on metal and the pulling apart of cotton fibers. Lydia was swabbing up the fluid. "You have survived this long, inspector, and I expect you to continue doing so!"

Tasha made no noise to indicate he heard. His breathing continued, deeper, and the rattle was more pronounced.

"Lydia, go prepare another transfusion." The nurse left at once, and Marie stepped forward.

"May I assist?"

"You already did." She was cleaning up the inspector with sure strokes, and then he heard the sound of catgut being drawn from its box. "Had we waited even a minute more . . . thank you, Marie."

He listened to her begin to stitch, hard to hear over the inspector's breathing, and cocked his ear to the door as it opened. The footsteps were unmistakable; he was excellent at putting them to faces, but he had heard them so frequently in the last month that he could not forget them if he tried. And Kanda-

Kanda was standing right there in the open, not ten feet from the foot of the dying inspector's bed. Outwardly he did not react. His heart, however, was another story.

Damn Howard Link. At times he thought the young inspector was on their side, but with what had happened, perhaps it was no surprise. Perhaps it was the price for disobeying orders and helping them.

Perhaps it was the price of complacency.

Leverrier said nothing to Matron, though Marie clearly heard a sharp nod, a greeting. Matron did not respond, he was not sure she'd even seen it. Nor did the bedridden inspector greet his superior. It seemed he was no longer conscious, which was likely a blessing, considering he was getting stitches to what was essentially another stab wound. And he had lost so much blood already – probably the reason for the transfusion.

Tasha rattled.

There was a short, thick silence.

"Kanda Yuu." Leverrier's voice was soft. "Report to my quarters at once. I will be along shortly."

-x-

**Author's Notes**: I know, be still your beating heart, right? Two updates in a week? IMAGINE THAT! Sorry to kind of cliffhanger it, but the next part is long, so I will save it for the next update. The more of this I write, the more scenes I want to add – darn you reviewers! You chipped away at my evil wanted-to-end-it-five-chapters-ago heart. ::shakes fist in your general direction::


	27. Chapter 20 CIM: Muted Threats

Disclaimer in previous chapters. Please see Author's Notes at the end.

**NOTE**: This is a **CIM** (Curse is Magical) chapter. **CIM** supposes a curse can restore beyond what is capable by the human body. Please note that **CIM** and **CIP** chapters **shared some content****.** They simply moved in different directions.

-x-

"Would you care for a crumpet?"

It would have occurred to him, if he cared about such things, that this was probably the harm that Tiedoll and Marie had been trying to protect him from. More importantly, he was trying to recall what crumpets were, and whether or not they were sweet.

But then again, the man in front of him didn't really expect him to accept. There was enough poison in his words.

The silver tray was set down on the table between them with a knowing smile, and Kanda Yuu contented himself with standing there, staring down at the man. He made no effort to mask his dislike.

"You may stand if you like. I have no desire to emulate your Noah master."

The inspector picked up his cup of tea delicately, relaxing against the wide couch that took up most of the sitting area of his quarters. It was a two-room suite, with the large poster bed visible from the sitting room and all done in tasteful, matching tapestries. These rooms were different from the old Order, but of course furnished with the same objects that had been imported from the previous headquarters, and it wasn't too far-fetched to think the general himself might be staying in something similar.

That would be Leverrier's style, to do this in a room adjoining Tiedoll's and his never being the wiser. Though Malcolm C. Leverrier had instructed Marie quite explicitly not to accompany them, Kanda knew full well Noise Marie knew where he had been escorted and was probably alerting the old crybaby now. The guards at the door would be no match for him, but the guards inside were clearly Crow, based upon the fact that the room had been sealed with runes.

Marie would know where he was based on the square of silence. And Leverrier would know that. He didn't care if they knew where he was; he cared that no one could overhear.

"You seem resentful, Kanda. Do you feel you've been treated poorly?"

He didn't even blink. The thought, that he had stood there for how many days and given this jackass everything he'd wanted to know, made him want to break something.

The inspector seemed to accept that this was going to be a fairly one-sided conversation. "Ah, and I cannot force you to speak without invoking your Noah master either, can I. But then again, you have no memory of him, isn't that correct?" He took a sip of tea.

Kanda gritted his teeth but said nothing. Leverrier didn't really want confirmation either; he regarded his tea a moment, as if disappointed with its flavor. "I had not truly noticed, until recently, but you have grown into a capable young man. It is so infrequent I see you that I underestimate the passage of time." It was reflective. "It still surprises me, that someone as formidable as you can be gentled in four short weeks."

"Shut up and get to the point," Kanda snapped bluntly.

One eyebrow arched, and Leverrier took his time settling the cup back in its saucer. "There is a modicum of respect to be observed, Kanda Yuu. Perhaps you have conveniently forgotten that, as well?"

Kanda turned his head to glare at the Crow at the door, keeping Leverrier in the corner of his eye but no longer facing him directly. If the man wanted to bully someone, he could just as easily pull this crap on moyashi, or Link. There was nothing Leverrier had to say that was of any interest to him.

"Well? Do you not agree with my evaluation of events?" He saw the inspector move, but all he did was place the saucer on the table, beside the crumpets. "I am aware the reports were made available to you. Did you not also wonder?" There was an almost audible smile. "Did you suppose, as I did, that perhaps you broke so easily because there is nothing tying you to the Order anymore?"

The words echoed in his disbelieving ears, making them throb and roar. As if -! Kanda only noticed his teeth were bared when he thought to relax his fists. Reducing it to nothing like that -!

"And I can't help but wonder if perhaps General Tiedoll was saved by an Akuma, rather than his devoted disciple's quick thinking." The inspector's voice was bland. "I would hope your Innocence wouldn't forgive you, but then again, your Innocence isn't like the others, is it."

The Crow at the door moved, took a step away from his line of cardboard and magic, and Kanda tched, turning away sharply. The bastard was working him up on purpose, and he was doing a fucking good job of it. Hadn't Komui warned that if that inspector down in the infirmary died, he'd be transferred to Leverrier's authority?

And that was going to happen. His cuts were too deep, and he knew a death rattle when he heard one. Matron could not stop it now.

So in essence there was nothing to lose.

Kanda turned back to the inspector, sensing more than seeing the smirk beneath his mustache. "So what."

The gradual setting of the sun seemed to make the inspector's eyes grow thinner and longer. "I can terminate the second Exorcist program whenever I deem it necessary, without permission from the Vatican."

That couldn't possibly be true. Not if the Vatican was desperate enough to hang onto a known Noah. Not to mention it would take a lot more firepower than was in the room, Crow or not. Even assuming half of what he'd read was true, it would still take more than a general.

It would take Mugen.

"Hmm. I can tell from your expression that you don't believe me." Leverrier brushed imaginary lint from his knee and delicately placed a small napkin upon it. "Though it's true I've focused on others as of late, you have continued to remain under careful scrutiny. Can it be you've never noticed?"

Kanda narrowed his eyes in a glare. Even as a boy, he recalled them. The Finders that managed to survive when they shouldn't have. The habit his golem had of disappearing for twenty or so minutes every time he returned to the headquarters. The slight scent of an unseen other, lingering in the still air of his empty quarters. But all that had stopped, long before Komui. It had stopped when he had proven that he was loyal.

Not to the Order. As if he gave a damn about the Order.

"Section Chief Bak Chan eventually convinced the Order administration that your sense of honor and Mugen would keep you with us. But you're a young man now, with desires of your own." Leverrier selected a buttered crumpet, and Kanda heard him inhale as he enjoyed the aroma of it. "The report of your actions in the last few months disturbs me, as I am sure it does you."

The inspector took a bite of his crumpet, giving Kanda all the time in the world to retort, but he had nothing to say. As if threatening him would make him remain with the Order. The Crow at the door had advanced further into the room during the inspector's words, and Kanda gave the veiled form an icy glare. Attacking Leverrier was the last thing on his mind; even unarmed the inspector was no match for him. What he wanted was to simply walk away, however, and the seal the Crow were holding would prevent his body from leaving as efficiently as it prevented his voice from doing the same.

When the veiled form did nothing else, Kanda closed his eyes scornfully. "Che. After all that, you're still just their puppet."

There was the sound of the teacup leaving its saucer. "And who might 'they' be?"

Idiot. "Bak knows why I'm still here. If you don't get it, ask him."

"Chan will tell me that your familial honor obligates you. But seeing as you are the only family you have, you're the one who determines when that debt has been paid." There was a muffled clink of china on china. "That seems a poor guarantee."

Kanda couldn't help himself. He laughed. As if that debt _could _be paid. "It would have been more convenient for you if the Noah had killed me. You must be disappointed."

He heard the inspector lean forward, clucking his tongue. "Many pardons, my young friend. I seem to have given you the wrong impression." The cup of tea and half-eaten crumpet were placed back on the table, and Kanda watched the man from the corner of his eye. "Above all, we need to retain as many Exorcists as is possible. Though you are different, you still wield a piece of Innocence for the Order and for your God." Then the inspector inclined his head, patronizingly.

And Kanda knew exactly what he hadn't said. "But some Exorcists are more valuable than others."

A thin smile. "I am glad you understand, Kanda Yuu. General Tiedoll is extremely skilled, he demonstrated it not three weeks ago. However, he should have been demonstrating it vanquishing a Noah, rather than retreating with what might have been a traitor."

Kanda snorted. Trust Leverrier to reduce the destruction of two level fours to nothing.

"Despite your unique circumstances, it was simply too great a risk. I can see you concur."

Odd, that they would both agree that Tiedoll should have left him, and for nearly the same reason. It left an oily taste in Kanda's mouth.

"And due to your partial change of heart while remaining the Noah's guest, I am not certain we can trust the intelligence you brought back. All in all it was a win for the Millennium Earl. And _that_ is always disappointing."

The inspector stood, and Kanda allowed him to approach. The hell he was going to retreat. "But you, my young friend, no longer wear the shackles your Noah captors placed upon your heart. Perhaps the damage you could have done would have turned the tables, and they decided to take what they could get, even if it meant returning an Exorcist to us." The inspector's voice was smooth. "And as you had been nothing but impressive until this point, I am of course quite pleased to see you spirited once again."

As if pleasing Leverrier meant anything at all.

"You have been very effective in the past." It was nearly a purr. "So long as you maintain that practice, I will continue to entrust you with Mugen."

"You don't have a choice." Mugen would remain synchronized with him until he died. It wasn't as if Leverrier could give it to one of the veiled Crow in the room. Then Kanda felt his lips twist. "Chasing Komui off won't change that."

"It seems you're misinformed." Leverrier turned suddenly, clasping his hands behind his back. "I have not asked Supervisor Komui to resign. More importantly, understand that my judgment of the risks associated with the second Exorcist project are not dependant on any head supervisor. The project became mine upon Chan's death and will remain mine until such time as I alone choose."

Kanda ignored the threat. Leverrier wouldn't dare risk another Exorcist, even one he had no trust in. And he'd all but promised Mugen back to him. The meeting was over.

Kanda did not expect the Crow to just let him out, and he wasn't quite stupid enough to try to break the seal without Innocence. Nor did the man, who remained there behind the sofa, try to stop him. Kanda stalked to the door and waited for the runes to be released.

"It was good to speak with you, Kanda. We should do it again soon."

-x-

He gave an almost imperceptible nod, and the men in the room allowed the runes to drop, breaking the seal on his quarters. Immediately he heard the doors open, and then no sound at all until they clicked shut again. They were closed gently, so obviously not by Kanda, and Leverrier smiled, returning to his crumpet and tea.

The guards outside would continue their shadowing of Kanda Yuu; anything else would be suspicious, after all. It was only a few days after his very public attack on the Order, and the guards would notify him immediately if Kanda reclaimed Mugen from Hevlaska and fled.

But he honestly didn't think Kanda would choose to run. His threats had done nothing but anger the teen, and that was fine. Perhaps the boy didn't care to prove himself to someone like him, but he would surely be furious at the diminishment of his honor and familial obligations. Reminding him of them, reminding him why it was he continued to fight and bleed for the Order, that was important. With Kanda in such turmoil regarding his situation, a little grounding had been prescribed.

And the warning would be clear enough to Tiedoll as well. It wasn't that he wished ill upon the general, but a reminder of his place in this war was necessary. All of the generals were growing more and more accustomed to their long leashes, especially since Cross's disappearance. Froi was already soft-hearted and the most easily cowed out of all the remaining generals, and keeping Klaud Nyne and Sokaro on the path to victory would take significantly more effort.

And that of course brought him back to the general that was not, the boy that was neither man nor Noah, enemy nor ally. God's Favorite.

The crumpet was gone, and his tea as well, and Leverrier stood, dismissing the silent guard with a wave of his hand. What Kanda had noticed even during his incarceration in the infirmary was something that the others would have seen as well. It was time to approve of Komui's decision and collect his signature on the resignation papers he'd asked Howard to draft.

It was still early in the evening. If Lee tried hard enough, he could be gone before morning.

-x-

He wasn't sure how he knew, but he knew. That outline, moving steadily down the street, it was someone he knew. Someone dangerous. It was hard to focus on him; the street was crowded and noisy in the dusk, and the air was both thick and perfectly normal.

He danced around a street performer's music box, upon which sat a mechanized monkey, happily crashing cymbals together over and over again while the ill-tuned strings of the box were plucked by the worn hooked nubs of a rusty iron wheel. Some of the hooks were missing, so the tune was hardly recognizable, and Froi turned to his left, where Noise Marie was clutching his headphones in agony.

He could not continue. Not until he replaced the strings and plucked the tune himself, properly.

Tiedoll gave the boy a nod, and Marie staggered off to his task. Meanwhile the stranger continued to drift in and out of the crowds, well ahead of them.

There were electric lights, strung above the street, swinging in a breeze that he could not feel through the throng of people. They cast odd shadows among the stalls and throngs, making it hard to really focus on anything more than a characteristic of a person. A young woman with short, dark hair darted in front of him, obviously frightened, and she had only just passed before an older gentlemen with graying hair cut him off as well, without so much as a word. Tiedoll shouldered along, eager to catch up with the silhouette before it passed to the end of the street, and there was a hand on his shoulder.

A Chinese man, with his black hair pulled back in a loose, low ponytail, was trying to persuade him into a shop that held tiny toy robots.

But that wasn't the ponytail he was looking for. He brushed off the hand and continued.

The stranger was harder to pick out, and he picked up the pace, despite the sticky pull of mud at his feet, preventing him from hurrying. A young man with bright red hair sticking to his face had found a place to perch, atop a box belching steam and producing boiled potatoes, and he held one out with a rakish grin. One of his eyes was missing; he had placed half a potato in the empty socket and carved out a hole in the soft flesh to imitate a pupil.

"Salt or pepper?"

The throngs pressed in on him, there was no way to step around the baking machine. An ancient man, with one reedy lock of grey hair plastered to his sweating scalp, peered over the top of the machine, giving him a knowing look that made him uneasy.

"When in doubt, salt," he prescribed, and then the red-headed teen was pressing a hot potato into his hands. "That'll be a pound."

A pound for a boiled potato?

Tiedoll did not have time for this. Wasn't he in a hurry? He pressed the potato into Chaoji's hands, indicating that he should pay for it, and skirted the boiling machine, eyeing the crowd. He was following someone, wasn't he?

But there was only one person he could be following. The figure was standing at the end of the empty road, so that the electric bulbs could not reach him. He seemed to be waiting almost impatiently, and Tiedoll felt a rush of guilt for being so impolite. He would have hurried but his feet were slower than ever, and the harder he tried to jog, the slower he moved.

And then someone stepped from the black, silent storefront on his right, stepped right in his way. That someone was dressed in a very dapper fashion, with fine leather shoes and riding breeches and a brushed velvet vest. His overcoat was also finely made, too tailored to be an oilskin, and his hair was quite short. For some reason Tiedoll could not focus on his face, no matter how he tilted his head, so he hailed the figure.

"If you'll pardon me, I am in a bit of a hurry-"

"I am sorry, master."

The figure swung at him, there was a sword, a black sword, and he brought his arm up reflexively. The pain was dull, the blade hardly cut through his sleeve, and he ignored the wound though he knew, distantly, that it should have cut off his forearm.

The figure, too, seemed disappointed that he had done so little damage. Tiedoll reached into his coat, freeing Maker of Eden, and he realized that the person before him was Yuu.

Of course it was Yuu. "Ah, so you were here the whole time."

"I am sorry."

The figure swung again, clumsily, and he blocked this time with the chisel. Why was Kanda attacking him? "Don't be stubborn, and let your father hug you."

He deflected another blow, it glanced off the chisel and bounced back, striking the boy in the face. The wound was terrible; it split his skin from his chin to his forehead, and dull metal peered out. Where the pentacle was touching the skin, it started to smolder.

"Come, boy." The voice was as familiar as the figure, he just couldn't place it.

Confused, Tiedoll watched Kandakuma floated backwards, without even using its feet, somehow it was just further away. No, Yuu would never attack him, Yuu could not be an Akuma, because of course if someone called him back he would be the Akuma's soul, and the Akuma would look like the person that had called the soul. The Akuma could not be wearing Kanda's skin unless Kanda had called a soul to it.

Froi felt an odd tingle in his hands, and he looked down. Tears made it hard to see at first, but his hands were strange, thin and dark. He touched his face, but he did not feel it, and there was a hideous screech of metal on metal.

The sky was dark, but the ground beneath him was light. Snow. There was snow, as far as he could see, some still gently falling. The shadow he had been tracking stood there, black as the sky against it, and at his feet was-

Was him. His body was twisted and torn, and his curly hair was matted.

He was dead.

Tiedoll turned back to Kandakuma in shock, and Yuu dropped his sword. It clattered to the ground, throwing tiny fragments of light into the air.

Fragments of destroyed Innocence.

Tiedoll's metal fingers groaned again as he wrapped his arms around himself, and he knew. He knew what had happened.

He had been called back. He was the Akuma.

"Yuu . . . you turned me into an Akuma?"

The teen was staring at the sword he had dropped. In this light, it looked like Mugen. "You left me here," Yuu whispered. "You left me here with him."

He had. He meant to cry, but the tears stuck in his eyes. He struggled to reach out, but his metal body would not move. Somewhere, there was laughter, and the Millennium Earl skipped through the snow to slip an arm around his pupil.

Kanda looked up, then, and his eyes were dead. He did not cry.

"Take me away from this place."

Tiedoll felt one tiny, restricted sob catch in his throat, and the Earl smiled brightly at him.

"General, kill this boy and wear his skin."

And his foot was dragged forward. And then his other foot. Nothing he did could stop him from moving. His arm was drawn back as if a thousand hands had hold of his sleeves, and another sob, insignificant, tore at his throat.

"No . . . _**NO**_!"

His metal hand came down, and there was blood, and such a look of relief in Yuu's eyes as he felt back. But Froi did not stop. He struck him, again and again, the snow was black with Yuu's blood but he would not die, and Tiedoll could not see for the tears in his eyes as he hit him, again and again, trying so hard to finish him off. To end his pain.

"Just die," he heard himself begging, and the eyes kept watching him, as if they were looking upon something lovely and comforting.

"Kill this boy and wear his skin."

Tiedoll's eyes snapped open.

Above him, the fabric of the canopy bed was still, and dark, the pattern too hard for his dry eyes to pick out. Weak white light was peeking in the window to his left, and he closed his eyes, rubbing them with a rough hand.

Just a dream.

He knew if he closed his eyes again he would doze, but the dreams would be no more pleasant than the one he had only just escaped. It was still before six am that he found himself dressed and leaving his room, drawing the door closed softly behind him. The halls were quiet but not completely empty, and he gave polite nods to those that greeted him. His feet carried him to the infirmary, then past. Though he had slept only a few hours, he still remembered last night.

Kanda had been allowed to reclaim Mugen, this time with little fanfare, and been taken back to his quarters. His imprisonment, at least, was over.

And so it was there, one story down, that he found himself passing through. As before, there were two guards flanking the door, but they did not stop him. The door was still lacking its lock, and Froi did not knock. He simply pushed it open, just enough to stick his head in. Just enough to see.

See a sleeping figure, for once not tangled in his sheets. He was curled on his right side, the blankets drawn tight against the chilly morning air, and he did not wake.

The general's eyes shifted to the dresser, upon which sat the hourglass, and an empty stand.

Tiedoll entered the room, then, closing the door behind him and taking the chair by the desk. He did so quietly but not silently, nor did he go out of his way to sneak. Kanda would sleep through his normal movements, as he always did when he slept with his Innocence. It was only the sounds that were out of place that would snap him instantly from sleep, and the sounds of his general moving around him were still familiar to him. He did not stir.

Tiedoll sat in the chair, in the silent room, and wept.

-x-

_It felt wrong. Not that Hevlaska would hurt Mugen, but his hands itched for the feel of the saya and he clenched them both to squeeze away the feeling. His guards, Leverrier's guards, noticed it, but he didn't care._

_His general had probably noticed it too, but it was Komui who spoke, stopping at an intersection in the halls. _

"_I'd like to take Kanda to the labs first, before we return him to his quarters. There are a few follow-up tests I'd like to run." The supervisor shoved his glasses back up the bridge of his nose, his voice half-distracted. Kanda wasn't sure who he was talking to, but he reluctantly stopped as well when the guards obediently halted at his words._

"_Do you anticipate an issue? There was something decidedly cool in the general's voice, something that he had never heard master use when speaking to Komui until today. What had Link called them? Inconsistencies?_

_What the _hell_ had happened, and why did Tiedoll blame Komui?_

_The beret-wearing idiot didn't seem upset by it, though Kanda knew he was not oblivious. His guards exchanged meaningful looks, and he glared at them. They were probably thinking that someone was trying to pull the wool over Leverrier's eyes. They were probably right, too. _

"_No, but I can't know for sure that such a swift increase in an equip-type's synchronization hasn't created other issues. It may help us understand synchronization's effect on the body. Given this sudden restoration, there's a chance we may see something we'd miss with a more gradual improvement. Even in Kanda's case," he added offhandedly, still marking his clipboard. "Either way, I would appreciate it if you could notify Marie and Lenalee. It would seem there is no longer a need to keep her under guard, and perhaps this news would be better received from you. "_

_His general looked to him then, and Kanda refused to meet that gaze, content to continue glaring at the lances still half-threatening him. He had answered their questions, Mugen was still obviously synchronized to him, yet he was still a prisoner, and he didn't even know why._

_Surely what he had read on his own desk was a plant from whatever Noah they thought took his memories, but what the hell did Leverrier mean when he said 'disloyalty'? The Earl would be lax if he didn't know he'd survived?_

_One glance at his own chest had told him something had happened, and if this truly was no dream –_

_They made it sound like they thought he'd changed sides. Betrayed the Order. His own hand confirmed it, if that report on his desk was to be believed, but Mugen wouldn't have tolerated that. He would have Fallen like that idiot Suman. His master and Komui both knew that, so why-_

_Why the fuck wasn't anyone telling him anything? None of this made _sense_!_

"_Perhaps you're right," Tiedoll conceded, and Kanda tried to radiate his anger, just in case the old fool decided he needed to be cried on. But the general made no move to do so, continuing down the hallway towards the main lobby, and Komui started down the halls to his lair. With no other choice, Kanda followed._

"_This shouldn't take long," Komui muttered, still writing on his clipboard. "A little poking and prodding, I'm afraid, but it won't be as awful as it looks."_

_Which meant a bloody Komurin was waiting for him. Still, the room Komui led him to was deceptively small, too small for a large blade-wielding robot, and as he crossed the threshold, he saw that there was only one person inside._

_It was no one he knew. Standing beside a cot that had been outfitted with restraints._

_Leverrier's guards were at least ready for him, unlike the inspectors outside his quarters had been, but they weren't up to the task. He took the lance at his throat away from its wielder with one firm tug, knocking the guard to his right aside with the business end as he did so. He twisted, always moving his feet, and a blade nicked his side, but a quick whirl of the lance around his head bought him breathing space, and his instincts were screaming at him that a lance was not sufficient to defend himself against that shadow in the corner, who had barely moved –_

_The sting of an insect at his throat barely registered;, he ruthlessly swatted the guard behind him aside, probably breaking his shoulder in the process. Komui knew better than this, knew better than to expect him to comply with _this_-_

_And the lance went spinning out of his numbing hands._

_The last guard, the forward guard, had his opening and he took it, taking the blunt end of the lance to his jaw, and Kanda should have hit the ground but never did, there was a white blob above him, its mouth turned down in a frown, dark eyes behind glass-_

_-words, apology, meaningless-_

_-the shadow was standing over him, and there was a fire, he knew better than to look at the fire but it was too hard to think, too hard to move-_

_-cold-_

Kanda came back to himself without opening his eyes. Stupid memory. It _was_ cold, but he could tell there was light behind his eyelids. Morning, then. A deeper breath brought with it the scent of dew, and his lungs protested a little. His right hand was almost asleep, but tightening it was enough for him to feel that Mugen's hilt was still there.

He was almost disappointed. It was far too soon for whatever son of a bitch had infiltrated his room the first time to come back, but it would have been nice.

Kanda Yuu opened his eyes, more to estimate the time than because of any real desire to crawl out of bed and expose himself to the cold morning air, and adrenaline jolted through him, nearly hurling him from the bed.

But there was plenty of light, and he wouldn't have confused the figure with any other. The man was wearing his high-collared jacket, probably not enough in the chill of the room, and had crossed his arms against the cool. His chin had dipped forward, presenting Yuu only with his glasses and hair, and his shoulders rose and fell gently as he slept.

Kanda had no recollection of the general being in his room when he retired.

What the fuck was it with people coming into his room? The next thing he was going to ask for was a damn _lock._

But despite the fact that his right arm was still a little asleep, and now the rest of him was wide awake, Kanda remained perfectly still, and he let his gaze fall to the side of the desk, instead of the sleeping figure in the chair. It was only when he had counted the number of breaths, and the seconds between then, that he slowly drew the blanket away from his body, minimizing as much fabric noise as he could. Getting out of the bed silently was impossible but it wasn't loud enough, and despite his better judgment he draped the blanket over the general's shoulders gently instead of using it to strangle him.

The idiot looked bad enough without catching cold because he was too stupid to sleep in his own room. And keeping him warm would keep him asleep, thus away from him.

Kanda knew that he wouldn't be able to avoid it forever, but he could sure as hell try. In the meantime, there were more important things to do, and he slipped on his uniform almost silently, securing Mugen firmly to his back.

The guards at his door did not stop him, and they gave him a five stride head start before following him.

-x-

**Author's Notes**: This was a pretty Kanda-heavy chapter. No worries, we get to see more of everyone else next chapter, and probably the inevitable conversation with Tiedoll. Obviously it's not going to go the same as the last one you read (if you managed to catch it before I took it down), nor perhaps is the end.

Next up we have Allen and Link, Lenalee and Komui, Lenalee and Kanda, and possibly Kanda and Tiedoll if there's room. (Jeez, that sounds kinda porny.) After that, I think it'll be time to go visit that nice little pod of Finders I created a few chapters ago.

According to the vote, you guys do want spoilers for the whole shebang, so there will be an epilogue that will cover who exactly visited Kanda and why, and then I think perhaps the Noah should get the final word . . . and don't get used to these frequent updates! I don't know what's come over me.

Also, Kanda's history as Leverrier mentioned it - this was taken in part from a fic by silverfox2702, entitled All the Pretty Little Pieces. It is a surprisingly heart-wrenching account of Kanda's introduction to the Order, and Melric, it is better than your pressie will be, simply because it's the best damn Kanda origin fic I've ever read. It can be found on this site, at ff dot net /s/5302573/1/All_The_Pretty_Little_Pieces Just copy and paste it, because I can't figure out how to embed a damn link in here. You should go and read it and tell silverfox how evil she is. And mean. She likes that sort of thing.


	28. Chapter 21 CIM: The Lady Doth Protest

Disclaimer in previous chapters. Please see Author's Notes at the end.

**NOTE**: This is a **CIM** (Curse is Magical) chapter. **CIM** supposes a curse can restore beyond what is capable by the human body. Please note that **CIM** and **CIP** chapters **shared some content****.** They simply moved in different directions.

-x-

Footsteps.

She tried very hard not to tense, almost laughing aloud when she found her hands were worrying the hem of her skirt. It was silly of her, silly when she had faced so many things more terrifying and dangerous without any of these nervous butterflies.

But maybe that wasn't true at all. She had waited for other demons, but those demons that were human always made her feel like this.

Those footsteps might as well have been Tyki Mikk's.

They hit the landing above, the path others had travelled before, but this time they crossed the landing on the main level and came down the stairs just above her head.

To the science level.

It wasn't just a demon she was waiting for, and Lenalee Lee bit her lip. She didn't want nii-san to catch her here. It didn't sound like his footsteps, they were not quick, goose-stepping, or dragging, his three usual moods when entering the labs. This was steady and gradually increased tempo, as if mass and gravity were dragging the person down the stairs.

Then they hit the landing and feet came into view. Work boots, scarred in some places by chemicals better left unexamined, and long tan working pants that were rolled at the hems. A white labcoat trailed as the feet came down the last set of stairs, then some folders. Then some hair.

Reever.

She was standing in the corner of her landing, in case she had to escape up the stairs from a nii-san below, and he didn't notice her until he was actually on the landing with her. His eyes widened and a smile started across his worn face, but its growth halted when he looked to her hands, and found them empty.

No coffee. Lavi had told her they missed her, and she knew they were often too busy to get the stuff themselves. It made her feel guilty. She did not mean to punish the others, but she could not bear to deliver coffee to everyone but him.

She couldn't even bear to look at him. Still.

Still, though, he deserved at least a smile. "Good morning." Her voice sounded weak and utterly unimpressive in the hallways, so she steeled it and said something else, to make the echo of it go away. That voice would have no power over her demon. "Did you get any sleep last night?"

It was a stupid question; she could see he hadn't, and why not. His supervisor was leaving in the morning, there was too much to do. Reever's smile turned a little pained, and she looked away.

"Not much," came his voice, almost bracingly. "I . . . if you're waiting for him, he's already downstairs."

Of course he was. It was almost eight in the morning. "I know."

She heard a brief sigh, but Reever made no move to touch her, or to walk by her. "He misses you, Lenalee. We all do."

She nodded, stiltedly, but she could not promise him that tomorrow it would be different. Tomorrow was not a certain thing. "I'm sorry that I haven't seen you lately." But what else could she say? "Please don't tell brother that I'm here."

"I won't," he responded immediately, and then a calloused hand ruffled her hair. She blinked up at him, surprised to see a genuine smile on his face. "I should tell you, though, someone you probably don't want to see is right behind me." His eyes darkened a little, and then the hand was gone and he was readjusting the folders he'd been carrying. "Whatever you're up to, good luck." And then he strode past her, and continued down the stairs.

She couldn't call after him; too risky, and what else could she say? Did he know what she was planning to do?

Had he been counting on it?

That thought infuriated her, for some reason. If nii-san was down there right now waiting for her to do this, she was never going to forgive him.

But Reever hadn't been wrong. It wasn't long at all before there were more footsteps on the landing above her. Quite a few.

But then again, her demon rarely went anywhere unaccompanied these days. The headquarters weren't safe, anymore. She was a little surprised that no one was requiring them to sleep in pairs, since the science department wasn't finished making their sensors yet. These footsteps were mixed, so it was hard to tell what kind of people they belonged to. If it had just been him, she would have known it instantly. His footsteps had been driven permanently on her soul. How many times had she lay there, listening, willing him to walk past her door.?

But not this time.

The feet descended the stairs above her, two sets of them in almost perfect unison, and she swallowed, reminding herself that this wasn't a battle even if it felt like it should be. Her Innocence was pulsing at her ankles, it ached to respond to her anxiety.

_Not yet_, she thought. _Please wait._

It couldn't come to that. She couldn't let it come to that. She had to be calm and resolved. Doing this protected her friends. Protected the Exorcists and the Finders and Jerry and Johnny and Allen and Lavi and Kanda. For her friends, she could do this.

So she kept her expression firm, she kept her eyes fixed resolutely on the landing as the footsteps reached it. For a second she thought perhaps the demon wasn't ready, but then the shoes came into view. Leather, impeccable, French. The pants were a very fine linen, ironed and perfectly hemmed. They stepped softly onto the first stair, always softly, like he weighted nothing, like it just looked as if he was walking. The footsteps of his guard were nearly the same.

And for the first time in her life, Lenalee wondered what Malcolm C. Leverrier had done before he was put in his current position. Being a Leverrier gave him such position, but was it possible he had been like Inspector Link . . .?

The thought made something click in her mind, and this time her Innocence pushed against her anklebones a bit more forcefully.

Maybe he really _was_ as dangerous as a demon. She'd never had the opportunity to push him far enough to see.

But there was no time to remember. He was suddenly there, and of course he was not distracted like Reever had been. He noticed her instantly, and gave her an oily smile.

"Good morning, Miss Lenalee." He did not slow in the slightest as he reached the landing, so she took a step in his direction. Her slippers hardly made a sound.

But that was because she _was_ light. Activated or no, the Boots were responding to her and this was really the first time she had asked them to wait, when her Innocence could tell she felt threatened.

_He's not worth it._ "You're going to see brother." It wasn't a question, she knew exactly what he was going to the science department to do. There was no reason nii-san would be packing boxes instead of sobbing outside her door in the night. For the past two days he had not once used a golem to beg her for coffee or tried to latch onto her in the cafeteria. If Jerry had not been taking food to him he probably would not have eaten at all.

Not that she knew that for sure, that was what Lavi had said, but then again Lavi had been trying to tell her about this for twice that time and she had not been listening.

Leverrier tilted his head, but he stopped, and the two men behind him remained on the stairs, giving them the illusion of privacy. "Yes. Would you like some time to speak with him before we leave?"

"No." She softened her voice a little when she heard how harsh it was; she didn't want to argue. She wanted this conversation to be over as quickly as possible and she knew very well who would win if this became an argument of words. "Brother and I will have time to talk during the journey."

He caught her meaning immediately, and the head tilt straightened. "I respect your desires to see him safely to his destination, Miss Lenalee, but your duties here as an Exorcist do not permit such an excursion." He gave her a bracing smile. "He will be traveling by Gate. There is no need for alarm."

She knew from past experience that he hadn't misinterpreted her; he was giving her an out, a way to escape the comment and back down gracefully. "Oh," she heard herself say, because of course that was the way she always responded. She always took the escape path. "My apologies."

And he accepted it, as he always did, almost beaming at her with that belief that his approval meant anything. "Think nothing of it."

But she wasn't finished. "I was not clear enough." Her eyes had drifted to the floor, maybe out of habit, and she forced herself to look up once more. He would take it as a challenge but she could not convey her intentions without it. "My home is wherever brother is. I will be leaving with him this morning."

Leverrier arched an eyebrow at her. "Indeed?" It was amused. "And what of your responsibilities here?"

The first of a round of questions that she had expected. "I will continue to fight from wherever you send him."

"You will continue to fight where the head supervisor orders you," he corrected her silkily. "You are an Exorcist, Miss Lenalee, and it is the Order that determines when and where you can be of most help."

"You don't decide that." Not by himself, anyway. Still, the echo came back horribly unsure.

"Then perhaps we shall ask the current Head Supervisor where he prefers to place you," Leverrier murmured, as if in compromise. Lenalee found it hard to contain her surprise. Had he already demoted nii-san? Was it too late? Or had her brother not actually given up his post yet . . ?

"He . . . he hasn't . . . ?"

"The next shall also require you to remain here." Leverrier pretended he hadn't heard the question. "You are very dear to the Order, Lenalee, and it is in your best interest to remain at headquarters with the other Exorcists."

Something else clicked in her mind, and Lenalee felt her lips thin. "Your estimation of my 'best interest' includes throwing me to Innocence and hoping I wouldn't Fall." The words were shocking; she could scarcely believe they were hers. "I am leaving with brother."

Leverrier's eyebrows shot up, clearly just as surprised as she was, and Lenalee wondered, a little wildly, if thinking at her Innocence now worked both ways. If it could think back at her. And just had.

"Perhaps this is a conversation best continued behind closed doors." It was an offer laced with something that told her refusing was not in her 'best interest.'

"This conversation is over." Her ankles ached so much she took a step towards him, and hardly noticed the guards descending to the landing. "Wherever you send brother, I am going too."

The inspector evaluated her, disappointment radiating from every part of him, and his voice was slightly cooler when he spoke again, more like she remembered. "You are an Exorcist, Lenalee. Your Innocence is now a part of your blood. You cannot return it to the Order without giving your life as well."

. . . because that was what she was threatening, wasn't it? That she would cease to be an Exorcist, cease to obey the Order? Would they prevent her from entering the American base because she was a civilian?

Her feet were warm with the heat from her Innocence, almost painfully warm. "I have no intentions of giving up the Dark Boots." That would violate their agreement. That would break her promises. She didn't need to remain with the Order to fight and she knew it. She didn't need to be here to protect them. "The Noah will come for me no matter where I am."

"Which is precisely why you should remain here-"

She longed to throw it in his face, that she endangered them, but she couldn't. They endangered themselves. Allen felt exactly the same way, as did the generals. Anyone who had attracted the Earl's attention especially endangered them. "And how will you keep me here?" It was the challenge she had told herself was going too far, and she chided the Boots mentally as her other foot came forward, bringing her a step closer to Leverrier to avoid being burned. "Do you really think I'm so frightened of you that you can tie me to a bed again?"

It was again a case of her mouth speaking words that were true, that were in her heart, and that were never meant to leave it. Her Innocence hummed, and she looked down at her legs despite herself, half angry and half guilty at crossing that line.

What if it was fanciful, that the Innocence was doing any of this? What if it was all her? Not that it mattered; that taboo subject was breached, and like any other point of no return in a battle, there was nothing to do but continue. It could not be taken back.

"Do you think the drugs will still work, now that the Innocence is my blood?" She didn't look up, though; his expression would distract her. "Do you think it's in the Order's _best interest_ to lock me away, unable to fight? Perhaps you should send a letter to the Noah, as they have to you, and tell them exactly where to collect me."

Leverrier said nothing, and she could only bear the silence a few seconds, looking up at the barest whisper of motion. There was a flicking wrist, the inspector on the right, and she found herself up in the furthest, highest corner of the landing before she even thought it. It had only taken two kicks; the guards had been blown five steps high and were on their backs, their eyes wide. The wind had brushed Leverrier's hair askew but otherwise he was still on his feet, untouched.

And that was the other line she should not have crossed. Attacking them with Innocence. The same line that Kanda had crossed. She wasn't even sure what the inspector had been reaching for.

The Boots, at least, had stopped pressuring her, and now kept her aloft, several feet above him. Her voice was trembling when it echoed back to her. "He stays, or I leave."

"I see that you do not trust me." Leverrier's voice could have frozen ice. "Since you think me capable of so much, have you not considered the consequences of your actions?"

Behind him, the inspectors had already regained their feet, unhurt, and it was hard for her to hide her relief. Leverrier made it easier.

"If I am such a monster as all that, it seems I should mention the increased chance of Komui having a fatal accident if you should threaten to leave."

This time she was certain it was the Boots, they wanted to brush this thing threatening her away, make it leave her sight. She could, too, she could pin him to that wall until it gave, and he fell into the catacombs with the rest of the stone.

But he was no Noah. He was not a demon as much as he was her demon. "If you were to have him killed, I would leave."

The inspector spread his hands. "You're going to leave anyway. What has the Order to lose?"

"The best supervisor it's ever had." Her voice was still shaking. "Brother is the smartest scientist here." But that wasn't the way to argue with someone like Leverrier. "What would you have to gain?"

"And do you think that I would do that, Lenalee Lee?" His voice was no warmer.

She was losing and she knew it. Somehow she'd let him gain control of this conversation and she'd never meant to. "Yes. I do."

Oddly, this made him smile. The smile widened into a light chuckle. "I see. Well, my little Lenalee, this has been enlightening."

And then he stepped towards her.

She did not give ground; she refused, but it didn't matter. He crossed the landing and turned down the stairs, showing his back to her. The guards gave her a little more respect, clearly watching her, and she rotated in air, staring down at him.

He was going down there anyway.

He was ignoring her.

"He stays," she repeated, as firmly as possible. Leverrier did not even acknowledge her, and then he was at the next landing, and out of sight.

The Boots hummed again, but there was nothing to attack. The threat was still there, pressing heavily on her heart, but she could not fight it.

She had let him win. Again.

Lenalee knew it was a waste, knew that it would alarm people who had seen Exorcists attack Exorcists. She didn't care. She ran, through the air instead of the stone, because that was what she did when she fought him. The place she had once run to was far away in England, and her brother was not an option. But there was another place, a high alcove near the top of the building, that she had found and it was there the Boots took her. She passed people, heard voices, but they were blurry and indistinct and she knew she was crying. It didn't matter. There was an open door and a dark, surprised figure in it and she passed so closely she could feel the heat of that body on her thighs but she didn't hit him, and then she was outside.

Flight was something she took for granted, something that was new every time. The wind cooled her cheeks and brushed the tears from her face, and the freedom made her feel like she could breathe again. The alcove was where she remembered it, above the main entrance, and it must have been her tears or her heart because it looked like there was a dark shape there in the middle of it.

Kanda.

She stumbled as she tried to land because the Boots felt her desire to approach him and they had been touchy, she had been touchy, and she collided with him, bowling him onto his back. His chest was hard and warm beneath her cheek but she didn't care, didn't care that it had been so long since she could remember actually touching him like this. She clung to his shirt and tried very hard to stop crying.

A pair of arms settled on her shoulders, trying to pry her off, and instead they squeezed out the sob she was trying to hold in. The arms hesitated, light on her back, and she moved her face only just enough to speak.

"I'm s-sorry, I-"

His voice rumbled beneath her right ear, reverberating in his chest. "Shut up."

He might as well have said 'It's okay,' and maybe that was what he meant, because he didn't move, and he let her lay there, crying into his shirt. It was the white cotton he normally wore under his uniform, smelling slightly of sweat and the soap that Kanda used, and his ribs were pronounced against her cheek. It reminded her of exactly what condition _he_ was in, and how selfish she was, when he should be the one crying on _her_, and she pushed herself away, embarrassed.

He let her, and she tried not to be disappointed, sitting back on her legs and covering her face. She heard him sigh, and a rustle of his shoes on the stone as he sat back up himself.

"I'm sorry, I d-didn't mean to interrupt-"

"Che."

It sounded so disbelieving that she bristled, moving her hands before she'd even thought about it. "It's true!" she protested. "I didn't know that you knew about this place, and . . ." She let it trail off. She hadn't even known he was allowed to be up here. A quick glance didn't reveal his guards, either, and when she turned back to him his expression was droll.

Just for a second. Then it was annoyed again. "Who wouldn't know about it? It's the only place to get any quiet around here."

She paused, swallowing, and realized this was the first time she had spoken to him since he had been attacked by the Noah, and attacked Link. It was nearly the first time she had looked at him. And though his face was thinner, and his short hair made it look even more so, he was Kanda again. Annoyed, aloof, calm and present.

He was himself. The changes in him, the sadness, it was gone as if it had never been.

He sensed her scrutiny and looked directly at her, eyes a very dark brown and piercing. "What do you want?"

And that just made her want to cry all over again.

Instead she looked at her lap, and laughed a little to make the sob go away. "Nothing. I didn't know you'd be up here, remember?"

"Tch," was his response, and he rearranged his legs into lotus position, closing his eyes with the air of someone who was expecting to be interrupted.

She held her tongue for all of maybe fifteen seconds. "I . . . thank you."

The skin between his eyes bunched, just a little, but otherwise he said nothing.

Lenalee watched him a moment, almost shyly, and then decided that maybe this was actually his way of telling her that meditation would help. And it would, if the Boots were any indication. She moved hesitantly beside him, but he never twitched, and she suddenly missed his hair. It used to move around his face so he didn't look so statue-like when he ignored her.

She closed her eyes, trying to feel all the air around her, and the stone grounding her, and then something happened that had never happened before.

"You talk to your idiot brother yet?"

She almost gasped, she was so startled, and when she opened her eyes and looked at him, he had not moved at all.

Of course. He was wondering why she was so upset. "No," she answered, very quietly. Kanda would be disappointed. "But I will."

Kanda said nothing.

Lenalee hesitated. "I was really angry with him, for not telling me where you had gone, or that he had gotten messages about you . . ." Or worse. "But . . . last night I realized something. I'm not being fair to him."

She closed her eyes, centering her head on her neck again, trying to find the right position. It had taken awhile, and in the end Lavi and Allen had helped, but she had started to figure it out. She was angry with Komui for obeying the Order, for leaving Kanda there when he knew what had to be happening. She was angry because Kanda was like her other brother. Komui shouldn't have left Kanda there one minute longer than he would have left her.

Yet when they got Kanda back, nii-san risked everything to keep him there. And that was a battle that he could fight. That he was suited to fight, far more than he was suited to take an Exorcist away from a Noah. Even if winning meant that he himself lost.

Because that was what he had risked, to stand by Kanda when the Order doubted. He had risked his position in the Order, and what that really meant was that he had risked her. He was leaving, going to America, when he had promised that he would never leave her alone again. And why would he do that, unless Kanda meant as much to him as the stubborn teen meant to her?

Kanda didn't say anything, or inquire again, and there was a long stretch of silence between them. In fact, she was startled when she felt wind in her hair, and she wasn't exactly sure when she had last felt it. It was cold, jolting to her, and her eyes opened with a start.

The sun was quite a bit higher in the sky, and Kanda was standing beside her, staring forward as well.

She didn't remember hearing him stand. "I . . . did I . . .?"

Even from below him she could see the turn of his lips. That almost smile. "You fell asleep."

" . . . oh." It was oddly disappointing. But she felt a lot calmer than before. Even if it wasn't true meditation-

The odd smirk was still on his face, and she wondered at it.

Kanda walked away from where she was sitting until he was standing beside the low railing between the alcove and nothing, and he put a foot there, leaning his arms on his raised knee. He didn't say anything.

Was he waiting for her? Curious, she got to her feet, surprised that her legs were not asleep. Her feet were still warm; the Boots felt almost content and her slippers were soft as she joined him. He was staring down at the main entrance, where the guard was changing. A shape with a fluffy head of brown and slightly graying hair was speaking with them, and it was that figure that held Kanda's attention.

Lenalee folded her hands behind her back. "Have you talked to him?"

Kanda said nothing, just staring.

"I guess you're angry with him, aren't you." Kanda was unique in his view of the world, and he was probably furious that the general had taken the risk to find him. "But you shouldn't be, any more than I should be angry with nii-san."

Kanda grunted.

And suddenly her gut was filled with ice.

It was afternoon.

Nii-san might have already left.

She leapt over the railing before she'd even activated the Boots, and she heard a startled curse from Kanda, but it barely registered. The main doors were open, since the guard was changing, and someone called to her as she flew past into the lobby. The Gate was there, glowing softly as it always did, and there was no one near it. No send-off party.

She was too late.

Lenalee stopped, hovering uncertainly there in the main lobby, staring around her at the equally surprised faces. All of her friends, but none of them close enough to ask if he had really left her.

He wouldn't have, not without a word. He would have used golems to find her, he would have left her a note-

"Lenalee."

She sank to the floor, letting the Boots deactivate, and allowed General Tiedoll to approach.

"Are you all right? What's wrong?"

She shook her head; what could she say to the man that was so worried about the one he thought of as his son? And so angry with nii-san? "I . . . did anyone leave through the Gate, recently?"

Strangely, the general's eyes hardened, but the hand on her shoulder was soft. "Not to my knowledge."

But . . . but that didn't mean anything, it just meant the general didn't know-

"I believe the contingent from Central was scheduled to leave, but I saw several of them in the mess not twenty minutes ago." He gave her shoulder a little squeeze, and she managed a nod at him. "On the same subject, have you seen Yuu-kun recently?"

Her smile grew, just a little, but the lump was still in her stomach. "Yes. I told him to go find you."

Some of the hardness left the general's eyes, and abruptly he had pulled her into his arms, sobbing onto her shoulder. She froze, totally startled. He had not done that since she was very, very small.

"Oh, did you? Thank you, Lenalee, I woke up and he was gone and I was so worried, if only he'll listen to you and come talk to his poor worried father-"

"Let go of her, dirty old pervert," an annoyed voice snapped, and both of them looked up – one tearfully – to see Kanda standing in the lobby doorway, Mugen in his hand and sheathed. He was glaring off to the side, which he did when he was supremely irritated.

Her sudden flight must have worried him more than she'd thought.

"Oh, is Kanda-kun speaking to me? Will you come say good morning to your father?"

"Che," he declared, and with a twitch of his head – that used to send his ponytail flying disdainfully behind him – he began to stalk off in the direction of his quarters. Two men, dressed in basic staff uniforms, came hurrying in from outside, and after glancing around they spotted him and began to follow.

So he still had guards after all. And they'd been watching.

"That was more than I've heard him say in quite a while," Tiedoll murmured, the tears gone as if they had never been. "That must have been quite the conversation you had."

She watched Kanda leave and did not miss that everyone else in the lobby was, as well. Two Finders scuttled out of the way as he approached them, and with another irritated motion Mugen swept into the air, settling into the loops built into the back of Kanda's coat. The Finders had flinched against the wall with soft cries of fear, but Kanda ignored them utterly.

"Thank you for spending time with him," the general continued in an undertone. "As far as I know, Supervisor Komui is still here." Then the general gave her an extra little squeeze and started across the lobby, leaving her standing there near the Gate, wondering what exactly to do now.

-x-

**Author's Notes**: Well, all that took so long I couldn't get anything else into this chapter. Sorry about that! I just liked the continuation in Lenalee's perspective, and several of you had asked to see more of her, so it seemed doubly win to listen to my reviewers and show why she ended up forgiving her brother. Sort of. ; )

Speaking of which, I noticed the number of people who have favorited this. Wow! I'm really flattered! I also noticed that almost all of you guys have never reviewed. I was sort of wondering why? Nothing constructive to say, or you just like to lurk? (I understand that getting an answer would require you to leave a review, which you don't seem to want to do, but honestly, I'm curious. Who knows, maybe your comments can make the fic better!)


	29. Chapter 22 CIM: Wins and Losses

Disclaimer in previous chapters. Please see Author's Notes at the end.

**NOTE**: This is a **CIM** (Curse is Magical) chapter. **CIM** supposes a curse can restore beyond what is capable by the human body. Please note that **CIM** and **CIP** chapters **shared some content****.** They simply moved in different directions.

-x-

Komui didn't precisely have an open door policy, but Leverrier didn't hesitate to let himself in.

The office was clean. The endless piles of papers really hadn't had time to accumulate, and Bridget had been doing her job despite impossible odds. In place of the pulpy mounds there were boxes lining the left wall, some bearing a clean red X that indicated the contents had been searched and found inappropriate to move.

It seemed Lee didn't realize that not all his projects actually belonged to him.

Without the perpetual mess that followed the head supervisor like an odor, the room was really quite impressive. It had once been a ballroom or parlor, and the tapestries had been long removed, baring the heavy stone walls. The walk-in hearth was alive with light and heat, and he wondered how many other projects had met their end in those flames before Bridget had arrived this morning to oversee things.

There was of course a desk, two of them at a ninety degree angle to one another, surrounded by chairs. And it was there most of the room's activity was taking place. Komui was affecting a harried appearance, as if all of this had suddenly been thrust upon him with no warning and it was all too much, and he eventually noticed the motion in his doorway, looking up. Bridget wasn't buying it, but at his look she decided to find something to do out in the hall. Leverrier waited for the door to close before he approached.

The trifolded pieces of paper in his breast pocket slipped free with an appropriate hiss from the inside of his coat, and he gave the head supervisor a cold smile. "Good morning."

Komui pulled his lips thin, but it lacked everything that made up a pleasant expression. "I'm afraid I hadn't noticed." He continued to scoop up files and place them in a box that Bridget had already marked.

As if it didn't matter that he was not allowed to remove the contents from his office. As if it would be allowed anyway, as if the rules would be broken for him one more time, when they had been broken so many times before.

"You seem to be packing, supervisor." He made a show of surveying the office. "Are you planning on taking a trip?"

"I hear North America is pleasant this time of year."

Leverrier scoffed, turning on his heels and crossing the room in measured step. "Do you truly believe I would allow you to interfere in such a manner?" Komui said nothing, but the sound of files being packed came to an abrupt end. "Oh, I'm aware of your knowledge of the project underway there, just as I am aware of your disagreement with it. How shall I put this delicately . . . it is not in the Order's . . . _best interest_ to allow you to impair the research in North America." He couldn't help the smile, but the flames hid it well, and he stared into the fire, letting it warm him.

"No, supervisor, I don't believe North America is the right place for you."

There was the sound of cardboard being folded, then a heavy, dull _thud_ as the box was dropped from the desk to the floor. "Ah, a surprise? I love surprises."

Leverrier felt his smile broaden. "I thought you might say that. It isn't often we have a head supervisor resign, after all. Perhaps you love surprising others as much as being surprised."

In answer, Komui gave him a hollow laugh. "And you expect me to believe that I've surprised you?"

No. Not really. "After all this time, you should have known better."

There was a long silence, and the inspector contented himself with watching the flames. It was fitting, that there were unending fires in Hell. There was something clean about them, something that could make a soul feel good even while the flesh was being seared from its bones.

"I do know better." Komui's voice was soft. "In the end, our actions are meaningless. It's the Exorcists who are fighting this war, and it's the Exorcists who will finish it. You and I are just stumbling blocks on the way." The supervisor sounded unusually somber. "It doesn't really matter where you banish me."

The inspector tilted his head, as if considering those noble words, then held up the paper still in his hand. When he was sure Komui had seen it, he relaxed his fingers and let the letter flutter into the heated air. The pages did not separate, and dove straight into the flames.

"What makes you think you're going anywhere?"

There was a quiet intake of breath, and the inspector waited patiently for Komui to come to a conclusion. There was precious little room for interpretation, after all. He would either assume he had been given a second chance, or that he had outlived his usefulness.

"And how long do you think Howard can fake letters from me before someone catches on?"

Leverrier closed his eyes, and he analyzed how he felt. Knowing that both Lees believed he would kill Komui, without a second's remorse.

So wasteful.

"That isn't Inspector Link's talent." He was, however, an excellent secretary, but then again, so was Bridget. "You are well aware there are others in the Order that could simulate your hand easily enough. Kanda Yuu's very existence is proof of that."

The supervisor seemed almost resigned to his fate. He did not beg or fight; near as Leverrier could tell, he hadn't even moved. No wonder he had been such an easy target for that level four. "Lenalee-"

"Lenalee will be sought by the Noah regardless of her affiliation with the Order. It isn't as though she can return her Innocence to us and resign, after all." He was curious, but he forced himself to continue studying the fire. "Or did you think I would bleed her dry to find a more suitable accommodator for such an important Innocence?"

"No." Komui's reply was immediate, and very sure. "Even you know the Heart is not the Innocence itself, nor the Exorcist, but the combination. You're too afraid of losing to risk her."

Leverrier turned, then, giving the supervisor an inquisitive look over his shoulder. "And are you so much braver than I?" Somehow he doubted it. "Or have you already given up hope?"

Oddly, Lee met his eyes unflinchingly. "That doesn't really matter now, does it."

The inspector hid his mirth effortlessly. "It would be unacceptable for morale if the head supervisor did not believe his Exorcists would be victorious." One last glance at the fire showed the letter was well and truly consumed, so he turned and strode back towards the door with the same measured steps. Komui followed his every motion.

But of course the fool didn't understand. "It was brought to my attention today that you are the most useful scientist in the branch, Komui. If we are to give our Exorcists the best support possible, it would be rather foolish to allow such a gem to leave our collection." He gave the stunned chinaman a knowing smile. "Please continue your hard work, Head Supervisor. Your request for resignation is denied."

His hand touched the doorknob before Komui managed to find his voice. "I never made the request." Then, "But I assume a copy will be kept in Bridget's files?"

"As is standard for Order personnel." He left the door closed a moment longer. "You must be proud of Lenalee. She's grown into quite the young lady."

Another intake of breath, this one softer. "Yes. I am."

"This time apart must be distressing you both." He pushed open the door. "Take a few moments to repair that relationship. You can never be sure when it will be too late."

It wasn't really intended as a threat. There was truly no danger to Lenalee Lee, quite the opposite, in fact. Her challenge to him on the stairs was welcome, in a way. The Heart could not be so shy, so easy to wound. She was still compliant, not willing to fully cut ties, and that was more than enough. Keeping Komui under his thumb, even in such a prestigious position, was insurance enough.

It was also a golden egg, a favor he had shown the younger man that would come back to haunt him, and Komui knew it would cost him dearly. There was nothing preventing him from writing his own letter of resignation, nothing preventing him from submitting it to Rome on his own. If this price was too heavy, Komui Lee could always refuse.

But he wouldn't. He had not given up on the Exorcists, regardless of whether or not he thought humanity would lose this war. All that noble mess about being a stumbling block was meaningless. It wasn't quite as good as getting rid of the man and putting the more obedient Bak in his place, but it certainly was not a failure.

It was also rather fortuitous that he had not advertised his plans to remove Komui from his position. He had lost no face in this match.

The girl was noticeably vacant from her post as he climbed the stairs once more, his guards flanking him as he headed to the main level. Breakfast would not be as sweet as he'd hoped, but he was certainly satisfied with the outcome of the day's events. All that was left to do was convey the information to Howard and return to Central.

He did not catch sight of Lenalee as he passed through the halls and into the main lobby. Inspector Link had not yet been fully reassigned to Allen Walker, but it was likely he was in the boy's quarters, preparing himself for resuming his tasks. He climbed another set of stairs, eyeing the lobby from this eagle's position, noting the pattern in the tile of the round receiving lobby, almost like a thirty-point compass. It was a stylized yet ancient version of the sigil, there on the floor for a hundred years before they had been forced to claim this space as their new headquarters, and the shadow of a heavy, dark crucifix fell over its northern point.

"Inspector."

He glanced up at the cool greeting, finding none other than Froi Tiedoll standing there. He was wearing his greatcoat against the chill, and Leverrier made a mental note to have his medical records pulled. It seemed the general had yet to fully recover from the strain endured rescuing his pupil.

Unacceptable. "Good morning, general."

"I understand you will be departing soon." It wasn't exactly a question, and the inspector focused more of his attention. Ah, of course. Tiedoll knew full well he had had a meeting with Kanda Yuu before signing his reinstatement into effect. Still, the tone did not sit well with him, when a much harsher fate could have befallen Yuu.

"Yes, there are matters in Central to attend to." He let his voice cool as well. "I trust you will remain in close contact despite your differences with Supervisor Komui?"

"Not _acting_ Supervisor Komui?" Tiedoll's tone was mild. "Or perhaps you could not convince Rome that his disobedience was so severe."

Leverrier's gaze sharpened. "His position was restored based upon my observations and recommendation, despite his failure regarding Kanda Yuu. Was there anything else I can do for you, general?"

Tiedoll began to button his coat. "No, but speaking of Kanda, there was one detail I noticed that night that seems to have slipped his mind. Or rather, I don't think he realized the importance of it."

The inspector gave him a long, skeptical look. It was extremely unlikely that Tiedoll would give him something incriminating, even after his apprentice's exoneration. "And what might that detail be?"

"It was the mansion in which he was being kept." One by one, the buttons slipped into place, as if he was erecting a barrier between them. "I might not have noticed it myself but for the number of times I've been there. The similarity was striking, down to the carvings on the banister."

It was a hell of a detail to have left out, and he was immediately suspicious of it. "You had been to the mansion previously?"

The general lifted his chin, setting his collar properly. "Not exactly. As you know, I am an artist, and I tend to notice scrollwork on mantle carvings and reliefs on the ceilings of older buildings. Though I doubt there's enough of it left standing for the Finders dispatched there to get an accurate floorplan."

Leverrier was silent, waiting for him to get to the point, and Tiedoll twisted his neck to properly settle the collar. "It would seem that the Noah's mansion was a perfect replica, on a one-third scale, of a building I'm certain you're also quite familiar with."

The general was taking his dear sweet time in revealing his revelation, and it set off tiny warning bells in his head. "Oh?"

Tiedoll nodded. "Indeed. I have seen that scrollwork in only one other place on earth." His smile was wry. "The great room of the Leverrier family estate."

Leverrier's eyes widened slightly as it sank home. But no, that was simply inconceivable, and certainly neither possible nor provable. There was not enough left of the ruin to –

How could that be?

The general cast the dry smile over the banister, out onto the lobby, but he did not raise his voice. "The detail was so perfect, and so accurately to scale, that it makes me wonder how many trips a Noah would have had to make there to get every nuance so painstakingly correct. Coupled with our suspicion that this Noah is operating under the public eye, it would seem that the Noah that tortured my apprentice is a regular visitor to the Leverrier home."

A Noah in his home?

"Perhaps some of his money has even found its way into Order coffers." Tiedoll sounded unconcerned, turning back to look him in the eye. There was no trace of the normally affable quality in his gaze, but his tone never changed. "It would seem a very effective method for the Earl to gain information, if one of his Noah was one of your most generous benefactors. After all, I've been a general here with the Order for perhaps nine years now, and I've only been invited to your house perhaps three times?"

He took a thoughtful pause, during which Leverrier could think of nothing to say.

"Though I doubt the rest of the Order leadership would see it that way. A Leverrier, of all people, wining and dining our enemy for a few pounds of gold, and dropping heaven only knows what details right into the Earl's lap."

The general could not have made the threat more obvious if he had said it outright, and Leverrier opened his mouth to point out it couldn't be proven, it didn't mean anything-

But even the suspicion would be enough. He mentally shook himself, forcing his mind to stop floundering. Assuming it was true, assuming that a Noah was a regular visitor, or even a contributor, then they could at least narrow down the suspects-

And possibly capture or kill a Noah at the cost of his family name.

"It would be extremely unfortunate for you if the Vatican was to learn this particular detail." Tiedoll's artistic subtlety apparently did not transpose well to his manner of speaking. "You must be very relieved Kanda didn't realize what house it was he was captive in for so long."

The inspector narrowed his eyes, to give the general warning that he was no longer speechless. Tiedoll wouldn't want the Noah to roam free, that was certain. In fact, Tiedoll was likely to want access to his guest lists, Tiedoll was likely to want retribution for what had befallen Kanda Yuu. Was that going to be enough? "And what is it you want in return for your discretion?" Not that Tiedoll had offered any, but if he intended to tell Rome he surely had had opportunity before now-

"You, your family members, and all those under your command are never to interfere with my apprentices again." His voice was stone. "And I believe you should increase the number of invitations I receive to your engagements, Leverrier. You would be much safer with an Exorcist nearby should that Noah determine you are of no more use."

And then the general turned without another word and headed down the stairs. Not even waiting for his agreement.

Not that he needed to. There was no other option.

Leverrier could not help a wry smile of his own, forcing himself to continue walking, rather than standing dumbly at the top of the stairs. It had been a long time since he had been so fully outmaneuvered. And the implications were heavy indeed. It would take time to fix this, and perhaps that was also the general's point.

But this could be repaired. For a fee.

-x-

There was no mistaking the feeling for what it was. Relief.

Allen did nothing to hide it, openly watching the other teen, barely his elder, step through the threshold into his room. The notebooks were ever-present beneath his arm, along with a book-shaped box in his other palm and a pen tangled in the same fingers, and the two dots on his face were round and perfect and red and it was only then that he realized he had honestly missed the other man.

Howard Link gave him an odd look, closing the door behind him without turning. "Am I disturbing you, Mr. Walker?"

"I could hug you," Allen replied, grinning brightly at the inspector's puzzled look. "I know we sort of got stuck with each other, but after a few weeks with Nikolai, I realized I never knew how good I'd had it."

The blonde's eyebrows shot up, and his lips twitched at the corners. "Are you expressing a renewed desire to cooperate with the Order's continued investigation?"

Trust Link to say it like that. Allen nodded contritely. "Yes. I'm turning over a new leaf." Then he laughed a little. "Not that I wasn't cooperating before . . ."

The inspector cleared his throat and walked to the desk, where until recently Nikolai had taken over. The taller teen's shoulders tensed slightly as he saw the state of it, and then Howard Link sighed, set down his burdens, and began to rearrange the supplies on his desktop. It occurred to Allen, not for the first time, that Link was incredibly easy to irritate. Very hard to bait, but very easy to annoy.

Sort of like a patient Kanda, in a way.

"You are not the most cooperative subject I've documented." Link's voice was distracted. "However, I rarely used the word 'uncooperative' in my reports."

Allen's smile faded just a little, into something smaller and more sincere. "I'm not sure I want to know what word you use most often."

He didn't expect a response and he didn't get one. Allen turned back to what he had been doing before his door had unceremoniously opened, which was to stare out the window. He had been training, earlier, and his shirt had gotten soaked enough that he'd hung it on the bed post to dry. It was a bit too cold to wander around with nothing, however, and so he'd grabbed a towel and wrapped it around himself like a spinster's shawl. With his white hair, he suspected he probably looked like an old man to anyone on the ground.

Link made an odd, amused little snort, belatedly, as if he had only now heard what Allen had said. "I am certain you know what descriptor I use most often when discussing you."

From somewhere, the scent of cherries tickled his nostrils, and Allen's stomach rumbled enthusiastically. He turned back to the room, to look at the inspector guiltily, but rather than seeing the annoyed eyebrow twitch he'd expected, Link just closed his eyes and gave a resigned sigh.

"Just as expected."

"Eh, heh heh," Allen tried, a little pitifully. "I know you just got back, but do you mind . . .?"

The inspector's eyes remained closed. Resolutely, almost, as if preparing himself for something he knew would be tedious and unpleasant. "I do mind, Mr. Walker." The eyes opened without a shred of compassion in them. "Nikolai's records are unsatisfactory, partially due to your recalcitrance in working with him, and that has increased my backlog significantly. We have a great deal of ground to cover before Inspector Leverrier leaves for Central, particularly in light of your recent transgressions."

So no. He would be trapped in this room with Link until the paperwork was done.

Allen continued staring hopefully at the blonde, but Link's expression remained utterly uncaring. "Therefore we will begin as soon as I have adequate writing space. Your stomach will have to wait."

Allen wilted sadly by the window, but Link had already turned to concentrate on re-organizing his desk, and was unconcerned with his state of starvation. Wherever the cherries were, they smelled delicious, and Allen slunk away from the window to sit on his bed, hoping that moving away from the open window would make the tempting aroma of warm, gooey cherry something fade.

The bed creaked loudly as Allen dropped onto it, the picture of dejection. "I can't believe I missed you."

"You hardly said you missed me." The tone was downright haughty. "You said I was the lesser of two evils."

"Evil," Allen echoed listlessly.

An annoyed huff, and motion at the desk stopped its breakneck pace. "Though I must admit," the blonde continued in the same brusque tone, "I too had become comfortable with our routine. Breaking it was a very valuable experience."

Allen's stomach growled petulantly and he rubbed it in an effort to make it quieter. Whether it was his imagination or not, the smell was still there, heady and present in the room.

. . . had Link eaten before he'd come in? "Did you . . . did you already eat dinner!?" he accused.

"Of course." Link arranged a notebook in front of him, leaving only the book-shaped box on the corner of the desk. "I knew the task I had ahead of me this evening, Mr. Walker. We will have to concentrate to complete our work in time."

"Concentrate," Allen repeated sadly. "I concentrate better with food-"

"You concentrate better _on_ food," Link corrected darkly, and then he turned suddenly in his chair, something metal flashing in his hand.

Allen flinched before he realized the weapon the inspector was brandishing at him was-

A fork.

Allen gave him a blank look, blinking repeatedly, and Link's eyes closed in irritation. "Please take it, Mr. Walker. I abhor watching you eat with your hands."

"Eating . . .?" He questioned, hesitantly reaching for the offered fork. Link merely sighed again, in a long-suffering manner.

"Spring cherries are hard to come by in this area, but Jerry has been working quite hard to get distant ingredients for Kanda Yuu." Allen's attention sharpened significantly, and the inspector's look turned speculative. "In order to get certain things he had to order a certain quantity. He was gracious enough to let me experiment."

Angels sang in four part harmony when the inspector pulled the top of the box off, and inside of it was-

Was-

A perfect cherry pie, with a woven dough crust, that had been painted in egg whites and sugar and gleamed like the most precious gem.

"I am afraid this is an untested recipe, and you are hardly the most discerning of palates, but –"

The speed at which Allen was able to snag the pie ruffled a strand of hair on Link's head, and the inspector just watched him, shocked, as he settled back on the bed and took his first bite.

It was still warm. Sharp, tart, juicy cherry stung his tastebuds, which were then soothed with the light flavor of sweet lemon and almond, all wrapped inside a light, flaky, buttery crust. It was heaven. He had died and this was ambrosia.

He heard himself hum – well, almost moan – with appreciation, and suddenly a quarter of the pie was gone, and he felt vaguely guilty. If this was indeed a new recipe, the least he could do was tell Link how it was without wolfing it all down, and thought it was wonderful, it was only one pie, it was hardly even an appetizer so he needed to savor every sweet, tart, juicy bite.

"D'you want a bite?" It came out almost slurred, and he swallowed the saliva building under his tongue in anticipation of more.

Link looked positively bemused. "That," he said, trying to regain the haughtiness he'd had before, "is the reason I ate before I returned, Mr. Walker. The pie is a symbol of my reparation, for being indisposed during the time set aside for this investigation."

Allen blinked at the inspector, taking another bite of pie absently as he did so. "You're apologizing for leaving me with Nikolai?"

Link scoffed. "Hardly. I made him one in apology for leaving him with _you_." But there was something else there, something light and approving and warm. The inspector then cleared his throat, as if he'd heard it. "I only hope it will tide your hollow leg over until such time as we can correct your lapse in cooperation."

"'s really good," Allen commented, and then only half the pie remained.

"I am glad," came the stiff response, and then Link had turned back to the desk, shuffling through papers. "As you've just demonstrated you can eat and speak simultaneously, we shall begin. Nikolai has recorded that on-"

Allen munched another bite of pie, nodding as Link continued, and only when there was perhaps an eighth remaining did he realize that he was nodding to nothing at all. His eyes snapped open – when had they closed? – to find Link silently staring at him, pen and right arm still on the desk.

Allen gave him an apologetic grin. "Sorry. Jerry needs to try to fatten up Kanda more often."

The inspector sighed. "I don't believe I've ever seen you eat so slowly, Mr. Walker."

"It's really good," Allen repeated, staring at the sliver of pie left. It stared back.

"Then perhaps I should give the recipe to Jerry."

It took Allen a moment to figure out why Link would say that. Regretfully, he shook his head. "The rest of the headquarters would love you, but Kanda hates sweets."

Link turned back to his desk, but for a long moment there was silence, and Allen ate the rest of the pie for something to do with his mouth. And because he could have easily wolfed down six more.

"You should not blame yourself, Mr. Walker."

"Eh?" Not wanting to lick the pie plate in front of Link, he set it at the foot of the bed and stared longingly at the gooey red gel sticking to the metal in a few delicious-looking places.

"For his capture," Link continued, facing the desk and oddly stilted. "It was not your fault."

Allen felt himself smile, but it was simply a reaction, the mask he put on whenever his heart gave that little ache. "Wasn't it? I was there."

"So was I," Link replied, and Allen turned from the pie plate back to the back of Link's head. He'd asked the other boy what he remembered of that night, but then Link had never really answered, had he? While the inspector was giving him a speech, Komui had contacted him via his earring and after that he'd darted into the bathroom and-

"The Akuma that caught him was coming for me." It seemed that Link was staring at some point on the wall, just in front of him. "I had been preoccupied with the thought that they were there for you, and was caught unprepared."

Allen processed that, but he found that deep down he was not surprised. Kanda had slipped, had said "_I blocked its attack on another_," had cut himself off before he'd said 'Exorcist.' He had blocked the Akuma's attack on another member of the party, and saying so would have made it obvious it was Link.

And then another thought occurred to him, one he was too curious to keep to himself. "Did that have anything to do with your almost killing yourself to get us out of there?"

The inspector snorted derisively and shifted the papers under his hands. "Of course not, Mr. Walker."

Allen nodded with a sad smile, letting his gaze drop to the floor before turning to stare out the window again. "It seems like I should bake you a pie, then, to say thanks."

"You would eat it before it had even cooled."

The banter was a little forced, but Allen went with it. "Nah. I'd just have to bake fifteen so there was still one left."

Link snorted again. "Can we please focus on the task, Mr. Walker? The longer we dawdle the longer your stomach will have to wait."

Allen wrapped the towel around himself more closely. "Sorry."

"Very well." The hard scrawl of a pen. "As I was saying earlier, Nikolai was unable to get further detail from you on the night that the Noah attacked the headquarters." The blonde ponytail in his view remained perfectly still. "Did Noah attack the headquarters that night?"

He'd answered this question before. "You were there when I explained this to Leverrier," Allen reminded him. "I don't remember anything."

"What do your instincts tell you?"

Allen's head turned to look at the inspector, and he found Link had done the same.

"What?"

"I find it hard to believe the Fourteenth would sleep through Noah coming so close to you, even if you did." Link did not flinch from his words. "I went back through the logs, Mr. Walker. Neither Cross Marian, nor you, ever reported that you'd been to Belgrade. Your travels with him extended mostly into India and the Orient, and with Mana mostly western Europe. Yet you've told us before that you can only create Gates to places you've been. If you had never been there, how was it you were able to create a Gate that night?"

Allen held Link's gaze, but he didn't respond. The inspector watched him for a long time.

"I heard you speaking, in the lavatory, before you created the Gate on the train. You were speaking to the Fourteenth in the mirror, weren't you. He had been to Belgrade, and you created that Gate with his help."

Allen shrugged, suddenly wishing for his shirt again. "I was talking to Komui. He described the place I needed to be, and I saw it in my mind's eye. That's all."

Link kept watching him. "You wanted to help Kanda once, and you were able to create a Gate to exactly where you needed to be. You wanted to help him again, and suddenly his memories are gone."

Allen tried for a smile, but failed. "Just because the memories are gone doesn't mean the damage is undone," he said softly. "No one can do anything about that, Noah or not."

The inspector's gaze was piercing, but Allen didn't falter. "Could the Fourteenth have done it, Walker? Would you know?"

Would he know. "I hope so," he answered, truthfully. "If the Fourteenth is going to be nice to Kanda in my body, he better be careful with it. Mugen is pretty sharp." He tried not to notice the way Link's eyes shifted to his eyelashes, where the evidence of that was readily obvious.

The blonde inspector waited several beats, but Allen offered up nothing else, and in the end the inspector turned back to the desk. "Please be honest, Mr. Walker. This is for the records."

He sighed, and let himself curl around his stomach on the bed. "Maybe another pie would help me think . . ."

"We are not leaving this room until these reports are complete."

Allen hoped his stomach would give another well-timed rumble again, but it was unusually sated with the pie, and he was forced to nestle a bit further into the towel. "I'm trying to remember why I missed you."

But both of them knew he didn't really mean it.

-x-

**Author's Notes**: Well, looks like Lenalee's argument worked after all. And Tiedoll has clearly had enough. As for Allen, well, I guess he's going to be hungry. Next up, we will have Lenalee talk to Komui, and the aforementioned Kanda and Tiedoll talk, and then we'll pretty much have wrapped up all the loose ends. There will be an epilogue with the major spoilers, so those who don't want to read them don't have to.

Now, all of you need to go to Youtube and search for "In Your Room Letterman." It should take you to a Youtube performance of this fic's theme song. In Your Room, by Depeche Mode, was pretty much written for Kanda and Sheryl, and though I've been a Depeche Mode fan since I was fifteen, I only realized it a few weeks ago. Lyrics are this:

-

In your room

Where time stands still

Or moves at your will

Will you let the morning come soon

Or will you leave me lying here

-

In your favorite darkness

Your favorite half-light

Your favorite consciousness

Your favorite slave

-

In your room

Where souls disappear

Only you exist here

Will you lead me to your armchair

Or leave me lying here

-

Your favorite innocence

Your favorite prize

Your favorite smile

Your favorite slave

-

I'm hanging on your words

living on your breath

feeling with your skin

Will I always be here

-

In your room

Your burning eyes

Cause flames to arise

Will you let the fire die down soon

Or will I always be here

-

Your favorite passion

Your favorite game

Your favorite mirror

Your favorite slave

-

I'm hanging on your words

living on your breath

feeling with your skin

Will I always be here

-

Now, lastly . . . you guys have a good sense of humor . . . right?


	30. Chapter 23 CIM: An Understanding

Disclaimer in previous chapters. Please see Author's Notes at the end.

**NOTE**: This is a **CIM** (Curse is Magical) chapter. **CIM** supposes a curse can restore beyond what is capable by the human body. Please note that **CIM** and **CIP** chapters **shared some content****.** They simply moved in different directions.

-x-

It gave him an odd, comforting sense of nostalgia.

As a boy he had watched the monks training, training their bodies and minds for prayer and meditation and discipline and the occasional need for self-defense. Their cries, exhales, the crack of their linen robes and the whisper of their bare or straw-clad feet on stone, all of these things he had absorbed. He had wanted, for a short time, to be one of those monks, to train at the temple and follow one of those clean-shaven, never-smiling men. He would have given his soul for their approval, yet he didn't know why.

That was not the way of things. His fate was to give his soul to another god altogether, as far from peace, meditation, and self-awareness as a human being could likely get.

Their parents had died, when he was younger even than the teenager he watched now. But his dreams of becoming a monk had died long before. There were lessons to be learned, since he was bright. He had improved the village's fireworks display by the time he was just seven, and the formulas for those fireworks the season following. He would go far, his parents were so proud of him. There was a job with the dynasty to be had, if his calligraphy was just so, and he was pleasant and obedient and learned.

Komui Lee smiled, and dropped his still-numb body onto a stone bench. And if he closed his eyes, that echo in the nearly empty training hall could have been ten men, all practicing their kata and forms in perfect synch.

How far he had come. Halfway around the planet. His formulas were used the world over. His hand wrote policy that the entire dynasty obeyed.

How proud their parents would be, of the great Komui Lee. Who had raised his sister in this place of discipline and echoes and vast emptiness.

Who had raised two children, really.

He opened his eyes, fingers tightening on the unremarkable wooden box he held. Kanda was ignoring him, which was a blessing. The Japanese samurai had cast his shirt aside some time ago despite the chill of the room, repeating the same form, over and over again. This one was simple, only a hard, straight downward slash and then a thrust to the right, where a small iron ring hung from the cathedral ceiling. Again and again the wooden practice bokken passed through that ring without touching it, though the clearance for the thick blade must have been centimeters.

And again and again, Kanda Yuu withdrew the sword, squared his stance, with his back to the door and to his unwelcome observer, and began again.

He had been at it for hours. Kanda had been in the training hall before Komui had left his office. He'd glanced at the golems more out of habit and convenience than any real curiosity; at the time he had been too shocked to really care what he was watching, so long as Kanda was not killing another member of the Order.

Besides, he'd needed the excuse not to meet Reever or Bridget's eyes as he causally ordered them to unpack all the boxes they had spent the better part of forty-eight hours collecting for him.

It still didn't make much sense. Leverrier had him right where he wanted him, and he let him go. The cost was clear; Malcolm would see this as granting a favor, and he would collect it at such time as another Akuma egg could be collected, at the cost of human lives and souls. And the threat was clear, as well. Leverrier could just as easily have said they were going to Central and led him to his imprisonment – or execution.

And bringing up Lenalee, right as he had been leaving. The compliment, the acknowledgement of his 'fireworks' . . . What was going on in the man's head? Who had he spoken with that morning that would have left such an impression, and changed his mind?

Komui had been chewing on it for some time, and he could think of no one within these walls powerful enough to do so that he could still call friend.

It left him curiously numb, and he wondered if the monks ever felt the same way. He had spent so long, training so hard to hide every shred of himself. To be pleasant and obedient, to provide miracle after miracle freely and gratefully to his superiors, who took his triumphs as their own. It was by the greed of each superior's superior that he rose, not because he deserved it, but because of how useful he was as a tool. Never complaining. Never a frown on his face.

Yet when he became the shaven-headed monk, when he was in that position he had so respected as a child, he realized why it was the world never saw him smile. And he wondered how often that stoic figure in his memories had cracked a grin and ruffled the equally shaven head of one of those children, safe in the halls of the abbey where no one could see that he was simply a man, that all the monks were simply men.

He wondered what would happen if he walked over to Kanda and did it right now.

Nothing good, certainly. But then again, Kanda was not and never had been his student, his protégé. Kanda Yuu was what he was, and perhaps only Froi Tiedoll, or Marie, or his dear Lenalee could take that kind of liberty with him.

Komui smiled sadly, the only kind he had lately, and decided that he would be happy with a bokken to the back of the knees if it meant Kanda would forgive him.

The dull clink of the iron ring shifting on its chain broke into his thoughts, and he saw Kanda, still fully extended, and the iron ring moving along the wooden blade.

He'd finally struck it. His aim had finally been off.

Looking him over, Komui could not bring himself to feel surprised. He was clearly exhausted, dripping sweat, and the taut muscles of his neck and back were shaking with effort, though the bokken remained remarkably still. He withdrew the blade from the ring with disgust, tossing it carelessly at the attendant, and after a beat, he caught a towel that had been flung his way. The attendant – one of Komui's, this time, rather than Central's – simply dried off the sword, returned it to the practice armory, and made himself unobtrusive.

Kanda traded the towel for his shirt, swiping it off one of the stone benches and yanking the damp material over his back. Then a stormcloud of disappointed, exhausted, dissatisfied Kanda Yuu had turned fully towards him with long, angry strides.

Of course. He was sitting right by the entrance closest to the dormitories.

Then again, he'd meant to be. Watching Kanda silently was peculiarly comforting, in a way, but he was not here for his comfort. He was here for a fight. And if he was very, very lucky, he might even leave with his life.

The old monk might have reproached him for ambushing a weak opponent, but Komui was long used to this sort of warfare, and he was simply too good at it to let a little thing like his conscious affect what had to be done.

"Inspector Tasha is dead."

Kanda gave him no sign of caring past a warning flash of his eyes, shrugging the shirt more fully into place, and Komui calmly plunked himself dead center in the doorway, forcing Kanda to stop or to run over him. He almost feared the latter; Kanda approached quite a bit more closely than he usually allowed himself to, closer than would be wise if one's weapon of choice was a sword. If he had been taller, it might have been an intimidation maneuver, and either way it was a behavioral change. Komui noted it, just as he noted the boy's paler than usual lips pull back in a scowl.

"So?" It was hardly more than a growl. Move."

"I . . . I don't know the terms of your agreement with Central," he continued, knowing that Kanda wasn't about to volunteer it. "I thought you should know."

Kanda stared at him flatly for several seconds. "Move," he repeated, and then, as if it had reminded him, "Aren't you supposed to be playing Leverrier's nursemaid?"

Komui dropped his eyes to his hands, and the wooden box he still held. It was smaller than he'd thought he'd need, but everything fit innocuously inside. The untucked lapels of Kanda's shirt were directly in his line of sight, as well as the Exorcist's hands, fisted by his sides. "Plans changed," Komui said glibly. "More importantly, there's something I need to return to you."

Kanda didn't make any motion to accept the box, and after Komui had waited a polite expanse of time, he cleared his throat. "We've not talked of your chosen religion much, though I suppose we share it-"

Something inside him flinched, like his viscera were shrinking away from an expected blow, and rather than finish the thought, he simply opened the lid.

Everything was more or less how he'd arranged it the last time he'd had to show the evidence. Which, of course, Kanda no longer remembered. He probably hadn't even paid that much attention to that portion of the report, despite the fact that it had not been buried by the Order. Each and every token they had received, intended for Froi Tiedoll, was there in the box. He had packed the bottom with cubes of cedar to try to keep the smell down, and the box itself had been sealed with several coats of varnish as well as the lid lined with thick felt, which made it, for all intents and purposes, airtight.

And made the sick, salty odor wafting up with the bright cedar that much stronger when it was opened.

Kanda didn't move.

Komui waited a breath, then another, and then glanced back up at the teen. The scowl was there but fading fast into incredulousness, and his eyes were wide.

"I don't know under which sect of Zen Buddhism you were raised, or came to know, but I don't know of any that does not hold the tenet that your body is your temple," Komui continued softly. "It's been so long since you cut your hair that I honestly don't recall how you treated the part that left your body. I've been disrespectful enough of your wishes in all of this. I don't want to make another mistake."

But it wasn't just that.

Disbelievingly, Kanda's right fist uncurled, and he reached into the box to finger the hair tie, still securing part of a ponytail. The rest of his hair was unbound, though matted and clotted with dried blood. Strangely, he gave the tie an experimental tug, and the ponytail shifted to reveal a long cylinder of dried, wizened flesh. The fingernail had not been included, and it had taken Komui almost as long as it seemed to take Kanda to figure out exactly what he was looking at.

It wasn't the only finger in the box, nor was it the only flesh.

"Even when you remembered the details, you refused to mourn." And this was the fight. This was what he would either win, or regret for a very, very long time. "Now it must not even seem real to you. I don't know if putting this part of you to rest will help, but . . . if it will, please, take it. And take whatever time you need."

The samurai was silent, simply staring at the contents of the box. He had withdrawn his hand once he'd tugged on the hair tie, and had curled it once again to hide the faint tremor in it. For a brief moment, Komui wondered if he'd said too much, or it was just the wrong time-

But he would have done this anyway. That box alone, evidence the Order required him to keep in immaculate condition, had remained unpacked. He would have done it today even if he had left with Leverrier-

Komui stared up at Kanda in surprise as the box was taken gently from his hands, and the lid carefully replaced.

The young, battered Exorcist met his eyes almost neutrally, and Komui had time to open his mouth again before he realized his mistake. The blow was so hard the supervisor felt his spine crack twice though the strike had come from the front. His not-quite-so-numb body hit the ground hard enough to knock the wind out of him, if the heel of Kanda's right hand had left any in his chest to begin with.

Komui tried to suck in a breath and failed completely, and Kanda's voice seemed far away.

"You're right. It helped."

Komui tried again, a bit more panicked this time, to breathe. His chest heaved, and he felt the same crack, deep inside his body, that he had felt when Kanda had hit him. This time it hurt a hell of a lot more. _Solar plexus_, his mind supplied clinically, and as the pain grew worse he realized he literally could not breathe.

-x-

Kanda stepped over the hyperventilating chinaman without so much as another glance at him, and Froi Tiedoll clicked his tongue as the armory attendant hurried towards them. It was a solid blow, Komui would be lucky if he didn't have a few broken ribs, but the general didn't really think his pupil had hit him hard enough to kill him.

"Yuu-kun, perhaps given the circumstances, you might refrain from further physical violence against Order personnel?"

The boy gave him a dark look, which he treasured as the first unguarded expression he'd received from Kanda in many days, and continued into the hallway as though he had not heard. Tiedoll forced himself to suppress a smile.

"Walk with me."

Kanda's irritation was plain in the carriage of his shoulders, but luckily they were heading in the same direction – the only direction available - and it wasn't necessary for the Japanese teen to alter his course too terribly. They walked down the narrow hall in silence, and the bustle in the lobby seemed unnaturally loud as it echoed towards them, the voices mocking and percussive.

He would have to face them eventually. His peers, the Finders that would accompany him on his next mission, Jerry and Matron. But now, this moment, looking at the unhappy boy, it was not the time. Tiedoll peeled off towards his right as they entered the nexus of the new complex, and Kanda seemed only too happy to follow him towards the entrance, rather than the dormitories. As they crossed the main hall Yuu surprised him by flinging his only burden, the unmarked wooden box Komui had given him, into the large fireplace they passed.

The highly varnished wood caught immediately, but Yuu didn't give it a second look, and Tiedoll filed that too away as the guards pulled open the door to reveal the late afternoon light.

It was still quite cool, but spring was certainly evident in the way the grass and brush was coming back to life, and Froi chose the eastern garden, with its early-blooming foxglove and evergreen English ivy. There was a stone bench, set beside rhododendron bushes that must have been generations old, and it was there he settled his old bones, enjoying the late sunlight.

Yuu did not join him, but came to stand reasonably near the bench, resigned to his fate.

Their talk could not be too long, for Yuu would quickly get a chill just standing there in his sweaty clothes, but it was better to speak where they would not be overheard, and they could not overhear.

"I'll be leaving tomorrow," he announced. "Marie has asked to accompany me, as it is clear the Noah are still targeting the generals. It is my inclination to leave him here."

Kanda turned his face away from the sun, glaring at the stone in the corner of the garden.

"You disapprove of my decision."

"Che," the samurai replied, and then surprised his general by propping his boot on the edge of the bench and crossing his arms. "I don't need a babysitter."

"But you feel I do."

Yuu still opted to face away from the sun.

Froi sighed. "I understand you did not fully read the hearing report that was sent to Central."

Kanda was silent for a long moment. "No point," he grudgingly admitted.

"Intelligence on the enemy is unnecessary for you?"

Finally he got eyes, dark and strangely vulnerable. "I don't want to know."

Tiedoll wasn't sure what to say. "Do you . . . remember . . . something?"

A shake of the head, absent the whisper of his long hair. "To know one's limits is self-defeating. I'd rather it be a surprise."

The older man pondered that for a long moment. Kanda-kun _did_ have a point; anyone else would recall the breaking moment and grow more and more anxious if anything like it approached again. But Kanda had no memory of what had happened to him, only the words on a page and his lack of imagination. He would not dwell on what he did not recall.

Then again, he would also not understand why it was he broke. And Froi was honestly not sure whether that was a positive thing. "I do not believe you reached your limit, Yuu-kun."

The eyes returned, and it was no trick of the light. Tiedoll had not seen eyes like those since Kanda was very, very young.

"How?"

He folded his hands in his lap and sighed. "You bent more than you find acceptable, and you did things you cannot imagine yourself doing. But to fully reach your limits would be give up, which you did not do, or concede. Concession to the Noah would have meant rejection of your Innocence. Neither of those things occurred. I think . . . perhaps they could have, if the Noah had been given sufficient time. Not even you are invincible, Yuu."

The teenager continued to watch him with those haunted eyes, and Froi pressed his lips together. "We did not defeat any Noah that day, but we did recover an Exorcist. The technique I used during that battle I can use again, and it is not the only one you have yet to witness. I do not spend these months idly moving from town to town, you know."

Kanda dropped his eyes to the bench. "I meant no disrespect, master."

So easily this bristling teen gave him access to his heart.

The general turned away, taking the opportunity to blink the tears back into his eyes. Dear God above, but he was not worthy of his pupils, any of them. "You have shown none, despite all that has been given to you. Will you forgive me?"

The teen was silent for a long time, but he did not move his foot off the bench, did not kneel and bow as Tiedoll had been afraid he might. "I'll forgive you if it will stop that blubbering," he finally muttered, halfheartedly at best. Clearly he did not feel that any forgiveness was required.

Tiedoll dropped his head and felt his lips stretch in a painful smile. "Will you, Yuu-kun?"

But they both knew what he was really asking.

He did not make Kanda bear that silence long, and he did his best to keep his promise and his tears contained. "Since I am leaving, I know that you will take good care of Marie and Chaoji while they remain here."

Kanda snorted, and the general felt a tiny bit of pressure lessen, somewhere in his chest.

"That idiot's going to get himself killed within the month."

"Then I look to you to see that he doesn't."

-x-

Inspector Howard Link reminded himself for perhaps the seventh time that day that he was supposed to be keeping a low profile. And a low profile meant damaging an irritating golem using seals was right out.

Many months ago, one of the supervisor's science team – Reever Wenhamm, perhaps – had shown him how to transfer one golem's recordings to another, which would eliminate the current problem. Unfortunately, much of the resolution was lost in the transfer and that was exactly what he needed.

And exactly what he did _not_ need was Cross Marian's ex-golem stubbornly glaring at him from the corner of a twelve foot ceiling.

"Come down at once!" he commanded, pointing for emphasis. The golem ignored his command, backing further into the corner. Only the agitated swishing of its golden tail gave away the thing's distress.

And that was something else that was just plainly wrong. For one, the damn thing didn't have eyes, so why did he feel a heated glare? Furthermore, golems did not _become_ 'distressed.' They were machines, which did not have feelings, emotions, or anything else besides programmed intelligence.

Every last thing about Allen Walker was unusual. And the fact that Marian apparently had always meant to leave the golden golem to Allen, that it had a copy of the Musician's score in it, that it consumed food - and had teeth, which he had painfully discovered enough times to make him wary of grabbing that dangling tail - and that it appeared to actually be gaining size and mass baffled and worried the blond inspector.

He had not yet reported the growing detail to Leverrier, simply because the blasted thing wouldn't sit still long enough to let him get accurate weight and measurements.

In fact, Timcanpy really only obeyed Allen, the science division half the time, and Komui almost all the time. He knew the flying machine considered him a threat. Still, he'd never damaged it, and in fact once the golem had come to get him in order to help its adopted master, so he knew that a level of 'trust' was possible to build with the thing . . .

"I need to see recorded footage," he tried again. "Your master said his Akuma-sensing eye was bothering him in his sleep. I would like to see the seriousness of his condition."

Link complimented himself on that manipulation of the facts as the golem eyed him, clearly contemplating his words. Timcanpy really was far too much like a real living object for Link's comfort.

It didn't help that Allen Walker treated the thing like a pet. Nor that it appeared to return his affection three-fold.

Reluctantly Timcanpy began to lose altitude, and finally settled on the cleaned desk, several feet away. Link made no move to pick it up or touch it, and two rows of sharp teeth - and why did it need sharp teeth? It wasn't as if a golem could bite an Akuma and accomplish anything but its own destruction, and flat teeth would be just as well for chewing – bared in silent warning.

Link gave the golem a droll look.

Satisfied that he wasn't about to pounce on it like a cat, Tim dutifully began playing back footage from the night before. Link let it go a moment before he cleared his throat.

"I want to see any footage you have of Mr. Walker sleeping since the night the Noah attacked."

The golem's jaw clicked as it searched its memory, and then the familiar footage of flying was projected onto the wall. As before, the golem circled back to Walker's quarters, and nudged the window open enough to come inside. As before, it used its golden tail to skillfully and quietly pull the window shut, as if it knew the cold air was bad for the occupants.

As before, neither responded to the golem's entrance. The lump on the bed was still, as was Inspector Nikolai.

Komui had cut off the playback there, but Link leaned forward in his chair and continued to watch. Timcanpy tilted to one side, as if in question, and Link shook his head. "Continue playing."

And so he watched them sleep. However, it appeared the golem had quickly grown bored of that. The angle changed as Tim flew to the cluttered desk and used its tail to bat a pen around, so enthusiastically it seemed for a moment as if the golem was chasing its own tail. After that, Tim located and consumed a spider, which could perhaps be called a protection algorithm, and then landed on the floor and idly inspected the inside of Inspector Nikolai's nostrils.

However, soon the golden golem tired of that, and settled in its usual place on Allen's pillow. His face turned up slightly from the goose down as the golem's not inconsiderable weight shifted it in a manner familiar to him, and Link studied Walker's face intently.

There was no sign of the gear or the light that sometimes shone when Allen's eye was bothering him.

Glittering on that smooth, young face were tears.

-x-

**Author's Notes**: I know, you were wondering if this fic was going to be updated ever again, weren'tcha? Well, we've got one more chapter, and then the optional epilogue, just in case you wanted the spoiler I've already given you. In the meantime, happy Winter Solstice! Please enjoy your holiday or days of choice and take it easy!


	31. Chapter 24 CIM: Life Goes On

Disclaimer in previous chapters. Please see Author's Notes at the end.

**NOTE**: This is a **CIM** (Curse is Magical) chapter. **CIM** supposes a curse can restore beyond what is capable by the human body. Please note that **CIM** and **CIP** chapters **shared some content****.** They simply moved in different directions.

-x-

There was no funeral.

There were funerals for Finders, whether they died in battle or not. Funerals for Exorcists, who always died in battle. Funerals for the families that made up the branch heads, and for the staff who died as well.

But there were no funerals for the likes of them. Only this cold, wooden pine box that he could not even feel at all.

What was the purpose of fingertips, if not to feel? What was the purpose of hands, if not to grasp? But there was nothing _to_ grasp; the lid was nailed shut. He could shatter it, without a thought, and his arm ached in response to his heart.

But shattering a resting place just to confirm the contents, that was more sacrilegious than ignoring the death inside.

He pressed his obedient, numb hand flat onto the wood, scraping the thick skin over the unfinished pine, willing a splinter to give him some sensation, some sense of life. He heard the roughness of it, he heard it sanding down the flesh of his hand, but he felt-

So little.

"He has a wife." The silence was too brittle, and he did not want the one behind him to think he was unaware. "Mathilda. And a son, Gavril. He is too young to remember, even if we were permitted to tell them."

Not that he expected the only other living presence in the room to have any inclination to do so. Tell them. Let the grieving widow ignorantly call out her husband's name and give the Earl such a valuable Akuma. It didn't make sense, that God would allow the soul to leave His embrace, knowing what lay in store for it. Long he had wondered if that power, the power the Earl seemed to have over God, was the same power the Crow wielded, if less effectively.

If it was more or less godly than his new right arm.

At least that arm _felt._ It felt like a boa constrictor was crushing it to his pulse, but it was the only way he could feel his own heartbeat at all. If pain was all that was left to feel, then he would embrace it. Had no choice but to embrace it.

"You knew them?"

The words surprised him, though he didn't know why. They were not sympathetic, certainly, but they were not hard or punishing. What was the point of speaking if the answer meant nothing?

"I know them."

"Forget them." It was neither cold nor warm, a simple command. "The Gate is not for your personal use, Finn. Why are we here?"

Yes. He should not be where there was not a funeral. He should not be standing beside the body of the man that he failed to stand beside in life. Finn flexed his right hand unconsciously.

"Whether or not you were responsible for his death doesn't matter. Or do you mean to call for him?"

He turned, then, to find Madarao's face for once unhidden. He was wearing the cloak of an advanced guard, but the helmet was tucked under his arm. The stiffness in his stance made the room more stark; outside of the stone walls and the metal table that bore the coffin, it was devoid of anything other than light fixtures, and cold enough for Finn to see their breath.

But it wasn't as if the morgue needed anything else. There was no reason to wonder what had killed the Crow that lay all but forgotten in that pine box. The Crow that would be consumed in flames so there would be no vessel for the spirit to return to, even if Mathilda called for him.

If he called for him.

"Do you think you're a match for the Earl in your state? You shouldn't even be walking."

"I wanted to see him."

His superior's head tilted slightly to the side. "Why does it matter so much to you?"

There was a great deal of meaning in that sentence. He knew what he had risked. Coming here, being seen by the staff. The Third Exorcist project was not common knowledge, at least not yet. There was training to be done, training he had not even started. He knew nothing of his body now, would be useless in a fight. If Matron had seen him walking around-

But she hadn't. He might not be a full human anymore – maybe not a human at all – but he was still a Crow. And removing himself from the North American facility and coming here undetected was proof enough of that.

Well, not undetected enough, if Madarao was right behind him. Tevak was right. The guy was not to be trifled with. If not for his delicate state of health – not that he could feel his body continuously breaking down under the poison of the Akuma egg and being regenerated simultaneously by the Alma cells – he was pretty sure Madarao would be having this discussion with his hands and feet instead of his mouth.

"I wanted to know that he was dead." The word of the Order was not always truth. They had asked him if he wanted to become as he was now, they had told him the price he would pay for walking once more. But he knew, just as Madarao knew, that he was destined to become a Third the moment Kanda Yuu severed his spine. If he had rejected the offer, nothing would have changed.

"Why was I chosen for this project, and Tasha ignored?" His medical records had been easy enough to get; the Matron was off paying a house call to one of the generals, and the other nurses oblivious. The chart said Tasha had survived for days before succumbing. Even if the process would have killed him, it wasn't as if the cells themselves would have died. They had nothing to lose.

Tasha would have wanted the option.

Why was he the one that lived on, when he was the one that had failed? When he was the one that had told Tasha to cool it when he had wanted to investigate? The air under the door had been a fucking Noah and he had told Tasha to wait. That Noah could have easily have manipulated Kanda Yuu into attacking them on purpose, and he could have done so much more damage than he did.

In the end, it wasn't Kanda's fault. It was his. He let that Exorcist touch him the way he had let Tasha touch him, and now he was . . .

Numb.

Madarao gave him a long look. "General Tiedoll is scheduled to leave for Paris soon. It will not seem suspicious if two high guard are seen leaving just after." From beneath the roomy robe he produced another, folded neatly and tied, and Finn caught it as it bounced against his chest. He was faintly surprised there was no seal attached to it.

"How do you feel?" The tone was no more conversational than before, and Finn mechanically put on the uniform he had been given. His body did not even shiver in the cold.

"Fine."

"Be silent until we return home."

That would not be difficult.

The uniform of the high guard came with gloves, which felt exactly the same as the skin of his hands, and Finn splayed the white fabric once more upon the pine box, noting the sensations he did not feel were the same. "Sleep well, brother," he murmured, and then he placed his own helmet over his head, and his eyes instantly adjusted to his gauzy new world.

Without another word Madarao led him back into the hall, and through the maze that was the new Branch headquarters. They did not trace the exact path Finn had taken, but rather the most direct route, and he wondered how it was that his superior did not falter when he had apparently never set foot in the new complex.

The direct route took them quickly to the lobby, and again, Madarao's knowledge proved accurate. Froi Tiedoll was an impressive figure in a brown duster, standing just at the Gate, and _he_ was one of those gathered to see the general off.

His right arm ached more insistently, and Finn didn't realize his fist was clenching until he heard the fabric of his glove groan in protest.

"It's the Innocence," the other Third murmured to him in an undertone. "Your arm is reacting to it. Keep your distance and calm the fuck down."

Of course. Because his arm was the arm of an Akuma.

As if it had all been planned, as if they had been ordered by the Vatican to witness the sendoff, Madarao stepped to one side of the massive doorframe and Finn to the other. He never took his eyes off the Exorcist. He was standing apart from the main group, clearly uncomfortable, but the differences were staggering. He stood straight, his chin high and his eyes dark and alert. There was nothing even slightly submissive or subdued about him.

So it was true, that he didn't remember. What he had become. What he had suffered at the hands of their enemy.

Perhaps one day he would be as blessed as the Second.

A seam on his right glove popped.

And the Exorcist turned his piercing gaze right on him.

Finn knew that his face and eyes were hidden; he had seen many high guard though he had never been elevated to one. The Exorcist could feel his eyes, though, even if he couldn't see them, and it seemed the general took advantage of his diverted attention by walking up behind him and enveloping him in a hug. The calm, placid teenager Finn had underestimated bore the attention for a scant two seconds before he began to flail, and the commotion lasted for several minutes before the general gave up and released him.

Then Tiedoll was gone, through the Gate, and the Exorcist's attention came right back to him.

And though he knew, he _knew_ that Tasha's death was not Kanda Yuu's fault, he continued to stare at him until Noise Marie took Kanda by the upper arm and began to bodily drag him towards the cafeteria. He tolerated that only slightly better than he had the attentions of the general, but soon enough the three Exorcists, including the apprentice Chaoji Han, were out of direct sight.

With no outward signal, Madarao began walking, and Finn had no recourse but to follow. His commanding officer gave the password and they stepped through the Gate Allen Walker had created onto the street of what looked like a quaint little town. North America was clearly labeled in eight languages, a yellow door with whimsical pink flowers drawn on with chalk, and as soon as they stepped through the other Third pulled his helmet off and glared.

"If I wasn't so damned impressed with you I'd carry you back to the lab in your own pine box," he stated, in that same not-quite-angry voice. "You left the Crow you used to be back there. He's dead. You're a Third Exorcist now. So if you need to hate, hate us. The Second's off limits."

Finn removed his helmet as well, unsurprised to see that his right glove was in tatters.

"Get back to your tube and stay there until we tell you to come out. You go off on your own again, I'll consider it desertion." The other's altered eyes were almost Asian, and piercing like the Exorcist's. "Didn't they bother to tell you you're supposed to be in too much pain to move?"

-x-

He didn't even bother to follow the other teen's gaze. Nor did he bother to listen to the little voice in his head, that Panda would be so proud of, that said to leave it alone and just watch, _watch_, because as much as he wanted to believe it, it was simply too good to be true. He needed to watch, because he needed to see. To not miss one detail.

But despite himself, his mouth kept opening, and his tongue kept moving. "You'll go blind if you try to stare at everyone starin' at you. No 'ffense, Marie-chan," he added.

The large and dark Exorcist flashed his own teeth and made the spoon in his hand look ridiculously small. "I agree with him, Kanda. It is only natural."

Certainly after the ruckus he'd apparently caused in the lobby, it _was_ natural to be getting all those looks. He'd been keeping to himself, which made observing him for telltale signs of not-really-being-Yuu-anymore more difficult than usual. But currently, he was certainly himself. His physical appearance hadn't changed much over the last few days, but his behavior was remarkably different.

He was Kanda Yuu again, and he was annoyed.

Then again, Kanda had never cared about the whispers and glares from Finders. He was never the most popular Exorcist. Still, he didn't remember his first reintroduction, and the significant increase in quantity of stares and whispers. Coupled with Marie's steering him into and around the cafeteria like a large black waterman with a left-listing dingy, he was moving quickly from 'annoyed' to 'intolerant.' And the last thing they needed him to do was put anyone _else_ in the infirmary. His attack on Komui was well publicized rumor at this point.

Kanda glared at them and tried very hard to concentrate on his green tea and soba.

"Eh, give it a few weeks. They'll forget all about this and move on to other gossip. Speaking of, I hear Komui's broken ribs are the best thing that's happened to the science department since Johnny got bronchitis and couldn't talk."

"Mmm?" Allen murmured with enthusiasm, trading his empty plate for one of pasta and marinara. Beside him, Inspector Link tried not to look disgusted.

"Well, I guess since Komui's pretty much trapped, everyone's booking timeslots with Matron to pin him down and make him sign stuff. I bet he's doing more work there than he's done in six months." Lavi's inner voice kicked him in the ear, an imaginary injury that made him physically flinch. "Not that he wasn't working to find yah, Yuu-chan, it's just-"

Chopsticks were placed with deadly calm on top of his cylindrical tea glass, and Kanda rose from the table. "Call me that again and I'll slice you to pieces," he said evenly, and without another look at any of them he rose from the bench. Lavi knew better than to push it; the threat was common but he got the feeling Yuu really meant it. He was not in the mood to be toyed with.

Nor in the mood to talk. Which was fine. Marie had steered him in here to make him eat, but he'd done that, and now he was going to go back to brooding in his quarters or kicking his own ass in the training wings. And there was nothing any of them could do about it, not with Tiedoll gone to Paris.

He thought about offering sparring help, but recalled the last thing he'd said and decided maybe tomorrow would be better. Allen didn't even try to placate the Japanese teen, and Marie only sighed like a put-upon old woman.

"Yuu-chan seems a mite touchy," he observed lightly, hoping to get at least a smile, but instead, the inspector snorted.

"Perhaps you should stop baiting him."

"Mmnup," Allen protested, then swallowed what had to have been a quarter pound of pasta in his mouth. "If Lavi didn't bait him, I'd think the Noah visited _him_ in the night."

Link gave the white-haired Exorcist a harder look than Lavi thought the comment deserved, though Marie chuckled. "It should return his sense of normalcy, at any rate. It is hard for him. Perhaps a mission will take the edge off."

"A mission'll just put a burr on the edge," Allen complained, nesting the empty pasta dish in the previous and freeing up space for what might have been half a ham. "Komui won't send him off on his own, not at first, and that'll just tick him off more-"

Lavi was inclined to agree, and felt an odd sense of déjà vu wash over him as he glanced at the aisle to find Kanda stalking towards the exit, ignoring a monster of a man on an intercept course.

"That idiot," his mouth said, without permission, and his inner voice kicked him in the head again.

On cue, the others looked again. On cue, they stood. Except Marie, who now had to play the role of Lenalee. He did not stand, merely laid his hands flat upon the table.

"Lavi-"

"This time he's really gonna kill him-"

"Lavi." Allen's hand was warm on his arm. "It can't become Exorcists versus Finders. We can't."

Lavi gave the other boy, the eventual Noah, his adopted little brother, an incredulous look. "That's _Kanda._ That Finder doesn't stand a chance-

"Exactly." Strangely, the cursed boy looked almost pleased, his lips turned up in a smile. "Let him win this fight, as he was unable to win the one before."

It almost sounded as if he was quoting a book, but Lavi couldn't place the phrase, and it was about that time that he realized history wasn't repeating itself. Instead of stopping him, those other Finders were walking _with_ Richard.

How stupid could they be, challenging him in a place like this-!

Maybe it wasn't a challenge. Maybe it was an apology.

Lavi looked over the Finders' faces again, and let that little hope fizzle and die.

The cafeteria had noticed, as well, and conversation dwindled to almost nothing as the two parties drew closer. Kanda had Mugen, strapped to his back per usual, but he'd been armed the last time and that hadn't stopped anything.

_Just watch. Watch for mistakes._

The only mistake was that the two inspectors – and Link, who was standing beside Allen – were not there. The other Finders that had defended Kanda, they were missing as well even though they were present, at the same table, in the same seats. Sky. Slom. Moog. They were watching, but they too did nothing. They didn't even try to head Richard off. Nor did they dare step in front of Kanda.

Then again, Sky and Slom had been here longer than Lavi himself. They weren't stupid or they'd have been killed a long time ago.

Kanda himself never even broke stride. His head began to turn, slowly, as he stared at them, and Richard's glare was hot enough to melt steel, but the two parties slid by one another, even at the shoulder, and then continued. Kanda's head swiveled back to the front, though there was the telltale cock of his skull, ever so slight, that showed he was still paying them close attention. Richard wasn't subtle; he turned to continue glaring at the Japanese Exorcist, but he said nothing, and his feet kept carrying him in the opposite direction.

If he said anything it was inaudible to Kanda. Yuu would have leapt at the excuse to make someone stop staring at him. He was dying for a reason to attack, and though Dick came close, simple glaring wasn't enough.

Allen slowly retook his seat, but Lavi remained where he was, watching. Watching Richard's lips as he snarled to his companions, watching Kanda disappear fully out of the door. Only when Richard became aware of the scrutiny did Lavi drop himself back to the bench and cram a croissant into his mouth.

There was no mistake in it. That was Kanda. So obviously Kanda that even Dick knew better than to challenge him. It was apparent to everyone watching that this encounter would not have gone like the other. The only saving grace was that Kanda had no idea there had ever been a first.

Or that glare would have been more than reason enough.

"It will take time," Marie said calmly, as conversation picked back up around them. "In the meantime, I must ask your advice on another matter involving trust."

-x-

He was never going to send an injured Exorcist out again.

Ever.

It was unbelievable how much two broken ribs could hurt. Every time he inhaled. Every time he exhaled. Every time he had a thought. Sometimes even when nothing else happened at all. It just hurt.

His diaphragm had finally decided to settle down, though, which was good. He'd had the hiccups for the past three hours and those had hurt quite a bit. And prevented sleep. Now, at least, he could drowse until his nervous system got over its shock and then he could be wrapped and sent back to work.

Matron evaluated him every few hours, but whatever she was looking for she wasn't seeming to find it. Worse, she was allowing more and more people access to him.

And Reever and Bridget were taking full advantage. They were worse than demons.

Komui shifted on the pillow restlessly. He was exhausted but sleep wouldn't come, not even with the drugs. He was out of practice, months out of practice, and his chest was hurting too much.

His heart was hurting too much.

There was nothing restful about the infirmary, he decided, listening to yet another nurse come to fuss with his sheets. This one went as far as to shift his pillow, and he had to admit it eased the crink out, but he just wasn't up to facing anyone else. She hadn't come, it had been almost twenty-four hours and she hadn't come. Not once.

His dear Lenalee-chan.

Maybe it was better that way, though. He had barely survived Kanda's forgiveness, and knowing that kid this wasn't the last of it. He'd be paying for his transgressions for a long time. He wasn't sure what Kanda had done with the box and asking for the golem footage would only further incriminate him in the destruction of evidence. He'd look it up later in the privacy of the back room that no longer had the butcher paper up, for better or worse. But he did know that Kanda had not left, so he wasn't going to take the time he needed.

So maybe he should let himself heal up before Lenalee decided to forgive him. The Boots could do all manner of damage, and that wasn't counting what she could do with her voice and her eyes.

No. It was better this way.

"Is that better?"

His eyes flew open, wide and startled, and though his glasses were on a rolling table that would require him to reach for – and hurt for – she was close enough for him to make out her face. He was only slightly nearsighted, in fact, so he could make out not only the skin-colored oval but also her eyes, soft and almost purple, and her mouth, which was not frowning at him. Her hair was getting longer, brushing up along the bottom of her jaw, and it was her hands that were shifting his pillow.

"I always get a crink in my neck if I try to sleep like that," she continued. "These pillows are softer than the ones I have in my room."

Softer than the ones they'd had back home.

She was too little to really remember her old bed, but the pillows in her bedroom now were as close as he could find. The consistency was different from European styles, firmer, and the ones in his quarters were also from China. He let her finish adjusting, and then she withdrew, her hands sliding into her lap as she sat straightbacked in the chair beside his bed.

Sitting. As if she meant to stay.

He closed his eyes, because his nose was tickling from liquid that was trying to drain into it, and he didn't want to sneeze, because that would probably hurt like hell. He didn't really want to cry either, for much the same reason, but his only other option was to grab her and refuse to let go, and that would hurt just as much. So he said the first thing that came to mind.

"I'm sorry." He smiled, though he could not trust himself to open his eyes. "I've been a poor supervisor, if you've been in here so often that you know how to fix the pillows."

He heard her sigh, the sound soft and so familiar that it just made the tickling in his nose worse. "I would have brought you coffee, but Matron says you need to rest."

"She's worse than the rest of them," he confided, in a theatrical whisper. "She's been working me to death in here! I barely got any dinner . . ."

"Well, Reever needed to get some things out of the way." Lenalee's voice had a slight edge to it, and he opened his eyes in spite of himself. She was staring down at him rather more sternly than he expected, though her expression softened immediately. "She said she's going to keep you the rest of the week."

. . . what? He made a move to sit up, gathering his arms at his sides, and immediately regretted it. "Kanda didn't hit me that hard, Lenalee. I'm fine-"

"Not for the ribs," came a familiar voice, and Komui welcomed the excuse to stop showing his eyes to his sister. The head healer for the Order looked every bit as stern as Lenalee had, thought, and worse, she had a syringe. "I'm treating you for the exhaustion, Supervisor. You haven't slept properly in months."

Two and a half, to be precise. Though really one could not call his sleeping patterns 'optimal' since Lenalee had been three.

"That's not really true at all," he stammered, levering himself away from her despite the sharp pain in his chest. "I think there's something important I left on my desk, I-I'll just be a moment-"

"Stop being a baby," Lenalee chided. "You need some rest."

They were double-teaming him.

The gears in his head made his chest hurt, but they were still turning. He knew Matron was still upset about the Nigerian. And Lenalee was still angry with him, as well. If he was to fall asleep with these two, he could wake up with a shaved head. Or painted toenails.

Or no toenails at all.

He managed to get himself shoved halfway up the headboard before Lenalee pinned him – effortlessly – by his shoulder and the Matron was already slipping the drug into the line from the IV. "Nii-san, you're going to hurt yourself-"

"But who will watch over the research? What about the pressure sensor project?" His chest really did hurt too much for further shenanigans, but something about the idea of doing nothing for the week when he had done nothing for the past few months just polished his guilt. "Reever gets less sleep than I do! It's not fair!"

"Set a good example for the Exorcists," Matron commanded throatily, and without his glasses it appeared – for just a second – as though her eyes had been glowing.

He glanced at his sister for support, using the excuse to clutch the hand on his shoulder, and she surprised him by taking his hand in hers and giving it a little squeeze.

"We'll all still be here when you wake up," she told him, as if he was a silly little child, and he had never felt more like one as he relaxed, and slid back down onto the mattress. She straightened his pillow for him again, but he didn't feel any crinks this time, or much at all, really.

But he could still see, his hand between hers, and her eyes, and her smile.

Her forgiveness didn't hurt as much as Kanda's, but that was probably because of the drugs.

-x-

**Two Weeks Later**

The cold tried very hard to follow them in, but a cheery fire and a raucous room full of patrons made it almost impossible.

Almost. He had a feeling Komui had padded his coat with a bit more insulation than previously, but he had not dared to complain about the weight on the off chance he was wrong. Either way, the ice was cutting through it quicker than it had once, and though the place was certain to have nothing fit to eat, he knew he'd choke down the local fare simply because he was tired of being . . . tired.

Komui would not let him go on another mission if he did not return in the same condition he'd left. Even if he'd had to pin the bastard supervisor to the back of his office wall with Mugen to get _this_ one. And it would be a very long time before he was trusted to go on a mission by himself. That didn't stop his teammate from being annoying.

Arystar Krory, who had been trying not-so-subtly to be his windbreak for the past several miles, made a noise of contentment and cracked off the ice that had built up around his pointy ears. "It seems quite busy here."

It was unusual that the Order would choose to house them in such a busy inn, for fear that Akuma would find and attack them and this would only increase civilian casualties. But it appeared it was the only one around. Siberia was not a welcoming place, and indeed, the looks they were getting from some of the patrons were bringing the temperature down quite measurably.

Kanda didn't care. He walked to the counter deliberately, Krory in tow. "We are expected."

The man behind the counter gave him a skeptical look but consulted his ledger, and Kanda let his eyes drift across the crowded room. Men in heavy coats lined the benches, and more intimate tables near the cauldron bubbling over the fire showed the upper class. Keys jangling caught his attention, and when he turned back towards the counter, his blood froze in his veins.

South corner. Long, black hair, pulled back, with a bit of curl to it. A paler complexion than the locals, but not as pale as moyashi. Expensive clothes. Yellow eyes.

Disbelievingly, he turned, staring again at the table in the corner while his hand drifted to Mugen's hilt. Yet his eyes had not deceived him. Three women were fawning for his attention, and he had raised his glass to them, eyes and mouth laughing –

But no. The yellow was just a reflection of the fire. He was not Portuguese.

As similar as he looked, he was not Tyki Mikk.

"Kanda?" Krory's voice was casual, but he apparently followed his gaze, and then gasped. "Is that-"

Kanda gave the man another hard look, but he turned to the woman on his left, and in profile the differences were more pronounced. Kanda eased his hand off Mugen's hilt and snatched the room keys from the startled landlord instead. "No," he muttered.

Krory didn't question him, following him through the throng and towards the stairs in the back, and on a whim, Kanda glanced again at the corner table. The man ignored them, clearly having had too much to drink and far too much fun, and he heard Krory suck a deep breath through his nose.

"The resemblance is striking," he murmured as they ascended the stairs. When he didn't follow it with anything further, Kanda was forced to ask.

"Do you smell Akuma?"

"I'm not sure," he admitted. "I doubt any of these patrons have had a bath in the last week."

They located the room easily enough, dumping their gear, and Kanda considered crawling into the bed for a few hours of shuteye before taking up their mission. Supposedly the Innocence was only a few miles north, and though the weather was terrible he would never have suggested resting before moving ahead before. Just because that rich fop wasn't Mikk didn't mean the Earl didn't have enemies already placed here. And Krory, for all his bumbling, could already tell he was tired. Sitting on the bed would just be admitting it.

And he'd be damned before he admitted it. "Let's go."

The vampiric Exorcist hmmed softly. "Perhaps we should eat first? The temperature is dropping rapidly-" And in a burst of perfect timing, Kanda's stomach rumbled mutinously.

He glared at his abdomen, which gurgled apologetically. "Tch. Whatever." Krory was trying to coddle him. Also unacceptable.

But there was a certain amount of sense to it, and it might help him pick up the pace. Whatever was cooking in the central fire didn't smell too terribly bad. Or maybe his stomach just wasn't as picky as it used to be. They returned the way they had come, scanning the room for a pair of seats. There were two spaces at one of the benches, which would put him elbow to elbow with the locals, and again, he glanced at the southern corner.

That table too was now unoccupied. But it was not empty.

Kanda started forward, on the balls of his feet, and kept track of every single solitary person in the place as he did so. Krory would have smelled them if there were any more than a few level ones, but even if they all were Akuma, it wasn't anything to be concerned about. What concerned him was that there was a box on the table so recently occupied. It was long and narrow, like a pencil case, and tied with a lavender ribbon.

He picked it up, letting the ribbon slip to the table, and he opened it. Arystar peered over his shoulder.

Inside was a pair of simple ebony chopsticks, a comb, and a small note.

_You left these behind. I thought it appropriate to return them, though I am unsure of their usefulness to you._

_Miss you._

Mugen replaced the box in his hand, and it only took him a few seconds to cross the room, and another to get through the door. The searing wind sliced at his unprotected face and eyes and he ignored it, searching the flakes and darkness.

A minute's head start, maybe less, and only his and Krory's tracks were still relatively fresh in the snow. It was as if the man and his three women had disappeared into thin air.

"Come out, coward!" he roared into the wind. "Face me!"

A presence behind him – Krory. His hair was standing upright, eyes bright and fangs extended, and his nostrils twitched in the frigid wind.

"I do not smell them," he finally admitted after a long sigh. "Neither Akuma nor alcohol."

He could have opened a Gate as soon as he left the inn. God _dammit!_

Kanda eyed the treeline closely, branches and trunks both. There was no motion other than that of creaking branches. There was nothing there.

"Kanda-kun, that note . . was that-"

"Yes," he said shortly. There was no mistaking the items as his own. "It was the bastard who attacked my general." Or at least his messenger.

They stood out there in the wind for a long moment, then another. No one came out of the inn to see why they had left so suddenly. And no Noah applauded them, or attacked them. No one even laughed.

He obviously didn't want to talk, then.

Kanda sheathed Mugen with a growl, and turned back for the inn. The comb was completely worthless, and the chopsticks as well. He would burn them both.

"Kanda-" Krory hesitated behind him. "Do you . . . remember . . ?"

"No," he snapped, and yanked the inn door open again. "But this time I will."

-x-

**Author's Notes:** Well, there you have it! There will be the promised epilogue, which will contain Noah goodness and reveal exactly what did happen to Kanda, and then it will be well and truly done!

I am flattered that Made Selena has asked if she can translate this into Russian! That is the first time I have ever been offered such a thing – thank you!

Melric, I have not forgotten about you. Sadly, your present (just like the CIP chapters) got trumped by canon before I could finish things. I have a new and improved idea for your present, have no fear! I am sorry it's taken so long. =(

Thanks to all of you for your kind words and the things you found that I needed improvement on! I will take those suggestions to heart. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did! Have a safe and happy New Year!


	32. Trial and Error EPILOGUE

**EPILOGUE**

(As in, contains spoilers. Do not read if you're not interested in what happened to Kanda's memories.)

-x-

Disclaimer in previous chapters. Please see Author's Notes at the end.

**NOTE**: This is a **CIM** (Curse is Magical) chapter. **CIM** supposes a curse can restore beyond what is capable by the human body. Please note that **CIM** and **CIP** chapters **shared some content****.** They simply moved in different directions. Apparently the **CIM** direction was the correct one. Who knew. Thanks, Katsura Hoshino-sama!

-x-

"Well." It was rather dry, like a wine that hadn't quite come of age. "What has the cat dragged in, I wonder?"

His traveling partner gave the speaker something of a dirty look, removing one of her gloves distastefully, but Sheryl could not be bothered to care. An armful of his beautiful daughter was swarming into his lap as soon as he had taken a seat at the table, and he smoothed her hair back and tucked her head beneath his chin.

"There was none of that, little brother. On the contrary, I thought perhaps I would be the one doing the dragging."

"In your dreams," Lulubell snapped, though she too took a place at the table and helped herself to the cream. "The next time you need an extra woman to fawn over you, you're on your own."

Rhode stiffened in his arms, and Sheryl gave Lulu a wounded look. "But my dear! My beloved wife knows you, and feels safe with you and the two servants from the house. If I was to be seen with strange women, engaging in such frivolity, whatever would she think?"

"Was there something . . . auspicious about the number three?" Tyki's head was cocked, as if he was interested in the response, and he was gently waving a wineglass by its rim, aerating the liquid contents against the side of the crystal.

"The more distraction the better," Sheryl replied glibly. "You've fought him at least once, haven't you? He's only moderately intelligent, but he _is_ observant."

Tyki Mikk shook his head with a half-smile, having no idea how dashing the long lock of curling hair on his forehead made him in the half-light of the room. "I would have expected the sight of you to have been enough, women or not."

Rhode shifted in his arms again as he chuckled, and he smoothed her hair again and let her squirm around until she was sitting properly on his lap. "As would I, little brother. As would I."

_That_ piqued their interest; both Rhode and Tyki blinked up at him, nonplussed, and Lulubell gave a delicate snort.

"The two Exorcists walked right by us up the stairs. Oblivious. We should have struck, Sheryl," she added critically. "The death of the general's apprentice so soon after his rescue would have put Froi Tiedoll into a frenzy. He would have been so upset even you two could have defeated him this time 'round."

Both of them bristled, Sheryl noted, but for two different reasons.

"Don't group me with that arrogant-"

"Had I not been distracted by a petty worry-"

"He really didn't recognize you?" Rhode's voice was slightly higher than theirs, childlike and full of curiosity that absolutely did not befit her stature and dress.

Trust Rhode Camelot to grasp the full meaning of his words. "Indeed, he looked directly at me and proceeded past as though we had never met. It was no act on his part." Then, recalling Lulubell's last comment, he addressed her. "And if you hadn't gathered previously, he _is_ rather difficult to kill."

Tyki glanced at their sister, who closed her eyes and inclined her head slightly. The Noah of Pleasure took a thoughtful sip of his wine, and Sheryl took special note of the way his jaw moved as he savored the taste on all four quadrants of his silver tongue.

"So it's true," he said, after a time, and replaced the wineglass. "You are certain?"

Sheryl graced his younger brother with a fond look. "Would I lie to you?"

"In a heartbeat," was the immediate reply. "And are we to assume the rest of our information is correct? He never revealed your name or previous position to the Order?"

"There's no reason to doubt." He glanced at the table, but the only hors d'oeuvres available were out of reach without dislodging Rhode, whom he could tell by the lift of her cheeks was smiling. And she had a great deal to be smiling about.

"It would appear a Noah did indeed take his memories. Just in time, I would imagine."

And there was only one of them that would have acted to do so without telling them. Well, two, but one of them was about twenty years late as far as rebirths were concerned. Then again, the other wasn't supposed to be awake yet either.

"Still, though, I wonder why?" Tyki took another sip of his wine. "It would serve both Walker and the Fourteenth's best interest to safeguard that information, not discard it."

Rhode shook her head, and Sheryl admired her hair ribbon. "Ne, don't you see? Allen would be sad that his friend was broken. He would want the same thing that wretched Exorcist with the clock would want. They would want him back to his old self again. And once he saw my dream . . . " Sheryl could hear the smile in her voice. "He'll come and play for sure now."

"What makes you think the Fourteenth would have interrogated the Exorcist enough to get to your dream?" Lulubell's voice was only slightly accusatory.

"You don't know how he works either, do you," Tyki replied, before Rhode could. "The Earl described it as though the Musician can hear the way his target hears music. He didn't just control the Ark, he could control emotion, memory, and behavior by . . . playing a different tune, to borrow a phrase. When he tried to kill the Earl, he used a song to neutralize the rest of us. Which is why none of us can remember him, so the Earl says." Tyki carefully kept his voice devoid of anything like doubt, but Sheryl wondered at it. "Supposedly when he hears what his target hears, he 'understands' why the music sounds like it does, and in so doing learns of the reasons behind an emotion or memory."

"The Musician could have gleaned everything," Rhode confirmed, just a tad forcefully. "Even if Allen didn't."

"And the Walker boy couldn't very well admit to the Order that he used the Fourteenth's abilities in that manner. They would panic. And that assumes Walker realized it at all." Sheryl shrugged. "It would seem that, at minimum, they are affecting one another, even if they are not fully conscious of it, and even if the Fourteenth is not fully conscious at all."

The Musician's powers, at least, were intact enough. That kind of mercy was unusual for the Musician, but it could be chalked up to Walker's bleeding heart rubbing off on the Noah. "Frankly, that single piece of information makes the entire thing worthwhile," he murmured.

"But I don't know if we should tell the Earl yet." His daughter's voice was sober. "He'll be very upset, and he's almost finished with the next part."

Tyki looked mildly surprised. "You want to withhold this from the Earl? Don't you think that will upset him more?"

She shimmied out of Sheryl's lap altogether and stole a scone from the table. "Maybe, but it's better to ask forgiveness than permission, ne?"

-x-

**Two Weeks Ago**

It was perhaps an hour before the sheets were filled out, and Kanda set down the pen and eased the cramp in his wrist. He would have preferred to use brushes but there simply wasn't room on the documents, which had been intended for English, and the only other option was to say everything he had just written aloud.

It didn't really make a difference but it did somehow, and he preferred a muscle cramp to having to hear the echo of the words in his ears.

He supposed he could carry the sheets to his door, which was still lockless, and hand them to the inspectors who were doubtlessly stationed outside. But that was too much effort, and he didn't particularly feel like being any more social than he already had. He glanced over the desk, forcing his eyes to take in the hourglass before standing and stretching.

The lights were killed in due time, and his shirt was tossed unceremoniously onto the floor. It was still a bit chilly but his blankets felt suffocating, so he lay on top of them, staring at a dark corner of his dark ceiling.

The general had left him alone today. Which was nothing but a positive thing; it allowed him to eat by himself, which he had failed to do, it allowed him to meditate with Mugen, which had not been successful, to spar with the idiot rabbit, at least that had been marginally helpful to his overall mood . . .

It worried him. If he was honest with himself and this cold place in his gut, he was afraid. Afraid that he was disappointing his general. Afraid that something would happen because of it.

Because of fucking Sheryl Camelot. He never used to _care_. The Noah had made him care, because disappointing that son of a bitch had _hurt_. And in a way, disappointing Tiedoll would hurt so much worse.

Dammit.

He threw an arm carelessly over his face, so that his eyes would at least stay closed, and forced himself not to see the things on the back of his eyelids. Theodore was waiting for him, was always waiting for him to screw up and the pit of his stomach was all too familiar in the darkness.

But opening his eyes meant no sleep, and that was just another victory for Sheryl.

The technique worked until he was nearly asleep. A puff of air washed over him, as if someone opened the door or window, and he could have sworn Theodore was right by his ear.

He twitched at the cold, but refused to move his arm. It was just another bullshit-

The window wasn't open. And neither was the door.

So he was asleep already.

Kanda didn't move, not even when something warm and supple wrapped around his forearm, too thick to be Theodore's strings and too long to be a hand. The thing slithered like a tongue beneath his arm to his face, and Kanda realized with a start that it was new.

This wasn't a memory.

His eyes flew open but there was nothing to be done. More warmth, around his legs, binding his arms, already around his mouth and nose and denying even the most muffled of yells. Not his eyes, though, they were left uncovered, and then he was lifted from the bed and into a rectangle of darkness that made the corner of his ceiling positively glow in comparison.

Not that it mattered. His bindings were blindingly white, and while they could not defeat the darkness, they more than illuminated their master.

A door opened at Kanda's feet, into a space so bright that Kanda had to close his eyes against it, and then he was carried into a very familiar room and laid gently on the couch. As if he was going to continue fucking sleeping.

The second Crown Clown withdrew Kanda sucked in some much needed air and took his feet, and he found the strength to glare as his surprise gave way to wariness. They were on the Ark, though he'd never seen moyashi summon a Gate without light, and they were in the Player's room. Allen was standing beside the chair Cross Marian had been sitting in when they'd walked in on him and Lenalee-

But Allen wasn't sitting. He was standing beside it, staring at the floor with his bangs in his eyes. Crown Clown remained active around him, in the form of a cowl, motionless now that it wasn't being used to manhandle him.

"What." If there was something moyashi had to tell him that couldn't be overheard by the Order, it had better be fucking serious, or he-

He didn't have Mugen.

He didn't have Mugen and no one knew where he was but moyashi.

"Come closer," a voice spoke, from the right, and Kanda whipped around, landing in a defensive position –

And was greeted by his own reflection in a wall mirror.

Only it wasn't his reflection. His skin was grey, not the tinge of the Noah but sickly and moist as if he was starved for oxygen. His veins were all so blue they seemed black, writhing beneath the skin of his face and neck, and rather than the tattoo more blood vessels had spread across his chest from his heart, gradually tapering off to flesh that was slightly pinker in color, and veins that were lighter blue.

As if his heart was a black void, poisoning the rest of his body.

He balled his right hand into a fist, and his reflection did the same.

"Moyashi-"

"Allen is no shorter than you," the voice remarked silkily. "Twiggy."

And then Kanda realized that Allen's reflection wasn't right either.

The figure in the mirror across from Walker was quite a bit taller than them both, and rounder, and somehow indistinct. His skin seemed to be made of lines that swirled continuously, and the paisley design on the Victorian-cut coat and vest shimmered and seemed to move on its own. There were no distinct features on the face, either, save a cartoon-like, wide white smile, and round white eyes.

And despite the fact that it was only a figure in a mirror, the thing radiated such malice and amusement it made the hair on the back of his neck stand on end.

Though Allen remained stock-still, encased in Crown Clown, his reflection moved closer to the Kanda-figure in the mirror. Kanda refused to give ground, which seemed to require his own reflection to remain still also, and the dying figure frowned at him. Ink – or maybe blood – trickled from its mouth as it did so. Yuu haltingly wiped his chin with the back of his hand, but there was nothing on it. Just normal skin, pinpricked with the cold.

His reflection stared at the back of its hand as well, then licked the black blood from its skin.

"Moyashi." He said it more sharply this time, turning away from the mirror and glaring straight at the boy. "Oi!"

Allen didn't respond.

"Allen worries for you," the voice observed in an almost sing-song chant. "Allen is sad."

"Walker!" He took a step towards the other boy, and in the corner of his eye he saw his reflection do the same. It brought it closer to Allen's-

No. That was no reflection.

That was a Noah. The Noah that Walker was doomed to become. The Fourteenth.

Kanda glared at the Noah, and the white grin grew wider.

"What do you want." It almost hurt to grind the words out. He didn't want to _care_ what a Noah wanted. He wanted Mugen in his hand, and he'd break that fucking mirror-

The chair. The chair Allen was standing beside. If he broke the mirror, maybe he could break whatever spell the Noah was holding over Allen.

He continued to glare at the thing, not giving anything away, and though Walker never so much as twitched, the Noah extended a thick arm, pointing directly at him. As if it could see him.

"He marked you."

He knew there was nothing there, just his chest as it had been half an hour ago, but his eyes were drawn to his reflection, which was staring dully at him. It had licked the back of its hand as clean as it could with a bloody tongue, and was now taking care to keep that hand slightly away from its clothes.

Sheryl didn't like it if he soiled his good clothes-

His eyes widened as he recognized the pants. They were not his own black sleeping pants, they were brown breeches. Long lines crisscrossed the shins, though, they were sliced and blood marked the edges, so there was no point, they were already ruined-

His eyes flicked back to the Noah. "What do you mean?"

And the Noah continued to point. "Allen does not want you to hurt."

It took him a moment to piece out what the Noah was saying. "I'm fine. Moyashi, _snap out of it_."

But the Noah shook his head, slowly. Almost pityingly. "He has poisoned you. You are weakening, and obey him even now."

That was not true. It was only his reflection that obeyed Sheryl's fucking rules –

Yet Allen's reflection as the Noah was accurate, in a way. He was the vessel for the Fourteenth. He wielded the Fourteenth's powers. He controlled the Ark. Allen Walker _was_ the Player, would become the Player.

No. _No._ He had cast off Sheryl's influence, he was not the Noah's puppet! The mirror might have shown him what he expected to see, but that didn't mean it was true.

"You think so?" he managed to growl, and then Kanda let his face draw into a snarl, stalking towards Walker as if he meant to throttle him. Which he wanted to do, actually, he wanted to shake him so hard it made his teeth ache. He saw his reflection moving towards the Noah and he wondered what would happen in the mirror if he _did_ attack Allen.

Whether Allen was commanding his reflection, or the other way around.

He reached for the boy and Crown Clown edged up, covering his face and throat. No matter; he shoulder-checked Allen out of the way, to the floor, and his hand closed on the top rung of the chairback instead of the idiot's hair. In one fluid motion Kanda turned, using his momentum to swing around three hundred degrees before he released the chair at the mirror.

His reflection had dutifully done the same, crossing the room to the Noah and reaching out for him, and though Crown Clown had protected Allen, the Noah had grabbed his reflection's wrist. The skin turned from pink to white in the Noah's grasp, and his reflection seemed to be in pain, but then the Noah's smile slipped, and the chair impacted right atop his face, shattering –

And the wooden pieces crashed down at the base of the mirror, which did not have so much as a crack.

"You cannot break a mirror from the inside," the Noah told him, though the smile was gone as if it had never been. His reflection was pulling away from the Noah, but not like it meant it, and its lips were drawn back in a silent hiss. Worse, its eyes were dead, they had no hope, no anger, nothing but pain and hopelessness, and the white was slowly creeping up its arm, making the skin appear brittle.

Kanda's own right arm began to go numb, though a glance showed it was the same color as the rest of him.

"He marked you," the Noah repeated, and Kanda glanced up to see the Fourteenth reaching for his reflection's black heart. "His poison is very effective. It has already halved your synchronization to Innocence."

Kanda felt as if he had just been struck in the gut. His synch rate to Mugen . . . this was why? His eyes were drawn unwillingly back to his reflection, and he watched in horror as the Noah's hand plunged into the captive figure, wrist-deep like that bastard Mikk. But unlike the Noah of Pleasure, the Player could not do so harmlessly. Black blood was spilling down his reflection's chest, which was staring at him, stunned but somehow not surprised that he had allowed this to happen to it.

Was that . . . was that how he had looked . . .?

"It will ruin you. That is why Allen must take the poison."

Kanda bared his teeth at the image, ignoring the growing numbness now spreading from his chest, as well. He didn't want to even consider what 'take the poison' might mean. If this was like one of Rhode's dreams, then if he believed what he was seeing was real, it would be. And if he denied it, he'd be fine. Wasn't that what Lavi's report had said . . .?

But was the Noah right . . .? His synch rate hadn't been getting any better, not even with meditation. Was that voice that whispered to him, was that the reason . . . ?

"Do not fight," the Player said, almost kindly. "It does not hurt."

"I can't die," he snarled, taking an experimental step back. His reflection twitched, more blood coming from its mouth, but it was unable to do the same. And despite the black pooling on the floor, his skin remained the same gray color, his chest just as dark. "Whatever you're doing won't work."

The wide smile returned. "Allen will take the poison."

The hell Walker was going to do anything, he was comatose on the damn floor-

A glance confirmed that he wasn't there.

Kanda turned, stunned, to see the white cowl just taking a seat at the piano bench. Only Allen's spiky hair differentiated him from his Innocence, and his hands, one misshapen and sharp, the other comically large, were placed gently on the keys.

"Oi, Walker-!"

"He does not want it to hurt," the mirror told him, even as he started towards Allen. It was getting harder to walk, he couldn't feel his feet on the floor anymore though he kept moving. "I do not care."

_I_.

It was the first time he'd heard the Noah use first person.

Kanda hesitated, stumbling, and his knees automatically folded themselves, so that he landed hard on the marble floor. The sting was secondary and feeble, he barely paid any attention to it.

He was kneeling. To Allen.

And though there was nothing stopping him, no pressure, no Crown Clown, he could not regain his feet. His body was too heavy, and he just could not move. Even his arms, his hands pressed to the floor to support him, did not have the strength to push him up.

They looked thin to him. Weak.

"My brother poisoned you," the Fourteenth repeated. "Allen can see it. Allen knows what must be done."

He didn't like the sound of that any more now than he had a minute ago, and panic slowly began to creep up his throat, as icy cold as the floor, as he realized there was nothing he could do about it. "I'm fine," he repeated, hating how small it sounded. "The voice is gone. I got rid of it. Moyashi-"

"We can see it. We agree it must be done." Finally, there was a slight impatience in the Fourteenth's voice. Was this silence, this lack of playing, a symptom of Allen's resistance?

"Dammit, Walker, wake up!"

"Do you think he is asleep?" The voice sounded amused, and slightly mocking. Clearly the Player's patience did have an end. "Then how did you come here? I cannot control the Innocence. Crown Clown belongs to Allen. Allen brought you here to draw the poison out. Do not fight. It does not hurt."

A single note sounded from the piano, the hammer striking the wire inside, but gently. Testing out the water.

"Walker-" He thought his voice cracked, it was getting harder to use his tongue. He was certain if he had the strength to turn around, he would see his reflection covered in ice, kneeling to the Noah. God _dammit_!

There had to be something he could do, there was always another way-

"Let me fight." He closed his eyes, he didn't want to see if Allen turned to look at him. "Let me fight this on my own."

The piano was silent.

Whatever Sheryl left in him, it wasn't physical. Maybe it was doubt, maybe it was fear. He would overcome it. He _had_ overcome it, in the past, and this fight he would win-

But Walker was sitting there, unmoving, armored in his Innocence and still listening to that fucking Noah. If Crown Clown was not strong enough to force the Noah's influence from Allen Walker, then was Kanda strong enough to throw off the lesser influence of Sheryl Camelot?

And how did the Fourteenth propose to remove it, without taking a part of him in the process?

But to have Mugen back, to get his synch rate back -

"You are already defeated." He would have sworn that the Noah had stepped out of the mirror, that it was standing just behind him. "Allen will help you."

"Walker, don't-"

And then the voice was right in his ear, just a whisper. Just for him. "And we can't have you ruined, I'm afraid. I still have need of you, _Exorcist_."

"Baka moyash-"

The pure, clear notes of a flute floated across the room, and Kanda trailed off in shock as he recognized the melody.

-x-

**Author's Notes**: So all of you that guessed Allen, you were right. You might have noticed that canon has proved me to be full of crap! Except for Sheryl. (Or Cyril, depending on what translation you read.) He is the same creepy bastard in this fic as he is in canon. Yay!

I guess it's not often that an author gets to be corrected by canon so unexpectedly during the writing of a fic, but I am glad that the manga is continuing despite its sharp turn from its own path, and that Hoshino is ready and able to continue bringing us the awesomeness and crack that is D. Gray Man.

As for my own little social experiments, it is worth noting that this fandom is not nearly as good about reviewing as the Fullmetal Alchemist or Trigun fandoms. Those who did review, however, were extremely helpful and identified specific things they liked and did not like. That was super awesome!

Also, the majority of you seemed to get the CIM and CIP concept pretty well, but definitely preferred one over the other. These are all things that are very helpful to me as a writer, so I want to thank all of you for your help!

As for me, I think this was my first and last visit to the D. Gray Man fandom. I love all of you, but for the amount of time I spent on this fic, I could have tried the CIM and CIP experiment in FMA or Trigun and gotten four times the amount of feedback. My ultimate goal here is to have fun, but also to improve. This fic is very popular, and I'm very flattered! But I don't know why. I think my time will be better spent finishing up and continuing work in fandoms that are more responsive. Many, many thanks to all of you that let me know what you thought!

Everyone else? C'mon, guys, it's the Christmas season. Go back to a fic you've been following for twenty chapters and never reviewed, and leave that author some comments! Be specific, let them know what works and doesn't! Egoboos make the fanfic go round – go make an author squee today!!

Melric, I'll be emailing you shortly to give you an ETA on when you can expect your pressie!


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